Durbin Slams Senate Republicans For Blocking Bill To Fund TSA, FEMA, And More While DHS Funding Negotiations Continue

Durbin Slams Senate Republicans For Blocking Bill To Fund TSA, FEMA, And More While DHS Funding Negotiations Continue

Republicans continue to reject Democrats' commonsense reforms to ICE and CBP in the wake of the killing of American citizens

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, slammed Senate Republicans for blocking a bill that would fund every agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-except U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and the Office of the Secretary-while negotiations continue to rein in federal immigration agents. The Senate Democratic bill would fund the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other important DHS functions, but Senate Republicans objected to its passage.

"This is not the first time we made this offer to the Republicans," Durbin said. "Last week, Senator Murray said let's narrow this down to the items of debate and contention-the future of ICE and the future of the Border Patrol. But let's fund everything else in that agency, so there's no question that the men and women who work with TSA at the airports are going to be paid on time, the Coast Guard will be paid on time, and the other agencies that are separate and apart will be paid on time."

Durbin continued, "Its been nearly a month since the shutdown started. Already it's the third shutdown of President Trump's second term-the third time. Why? Because the White House and my Republican colleagues refuse to consider reforms to ICE. Did you see the videos of what happened in Minneapolis with your own eyes? You don't need my interpretation. You saw what happened to people there, protesting the activities of ICE, who ended up being shot and killed on the streets of Minneapolis. Is that something that we signed up for when we started this deportation effort?"

Durbin noted that President Trump has justified these militarized immigration enforcement operations as targeting the "worst of the worst"; however, DHS's own statistics tell a different story. Reporting from CBS News shows that less than 14 percent of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by ICE agents in President Trump's first year back in office had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses.

Senate Democrats have continuously laid out their proposals to reform ICE and CBP. As part of those negotiations, Democrats are demanding the following common-sense measures: the end of roving patrols and indiscriminate arrests; upholding long standing, black-letter law that requires the use of a judicial warrant to enter someone's home; a unified use of force policy to restore trust-one similar to what is already adhered to by local and state police departments around the country; and clear identification and the removal of masks to improve accountability.

"These are fundamental questions that relate to the Constitution, to the Bill of Rights, and to the laws of this land. We want to make sure that they're followed, and that's why we're negotiating the future of ICE and Border Patrol," Durbin said.

Durbin concluded, "The men and women of TSA should not be held hostage to our negotiation. Let's get serious and get all the negotiating done. But in the meantime, let's fund the agencies that are critical in this Department."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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