House Progressives Vow to Oppose All Funding for 'Hateful Border Agenda'
House Progressives Vow to Oppose All Funding for 'Hateful Border Agenda'
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, left, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib were among
a group of progressives that opposed funding for Trump's immigration agenda.
(J. Scott Applewhite / AP)
Even as President Donald Trump on Saturday afternoon abruptly announced the
"delay" of anticipated raids by U.S. immigration enforcement agents that
were slated to begin this weekend, a group of progressive House Democrats
earlier in the day vowed to pull their support from legislation proposed by
their own party that would provide billions for border security and the
president's so called "deportation force."
"We must abolish ICE. We must invest in community-based alternatives to
detention. We must end the system of mass detention and deportation of
immigrants. We must create an immigration system that reflects our values
and respects the dignity and humanity of all."
-Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley, and Tlaib in a joint statement, Reps.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA),
and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)-all freshman who have been outspoken in their
criticism of both the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) and the
Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agencies-denounced the president's
planned raids which reports indicated would take place in 10 major cities
across the U.S. beginning on Sunday.
"The Trump Administration would rather criminalize immigrants, separate
families, and detain refugees than practice empathy and compassion," the
group of four lawmakers said. "Recent reports of a massive deportation
operation, targeting thousands of immigrant families in major cities across
the country are further evidence that this President will stop at nothing in
order to carry out his hateful agenda."
As immigrant rights groups mobilized to provide resources to targeted
communities ahead of the expected raids-and several mayors of the cities
thought to be prime targets said they would not participate carrying them
out-Trump took to Twitter on Saturday afternoon to say that, "at the request
of Democrats," he was suspending the raids at least temporarily.
In response to Trump's announcement, critics noted that neither postponing
nor cancelling the raids does anything to undo the damage that planning them
or announcing them is intended to cause:
Meanwhile, the progressive lawmakers pressed their case against the Trump
adminisration's approach-and the Democratic legislation which they oppose-on
social media:
The proposal in question, put forth by House Democrats on Friday, is their
version of an emergency border supplemental bill that would provide an
additional $1.2 billion in funding to CBP and $128 million to ICE. An
alternative to a Senate version, as reporting by The Hill explained,
"
the House bill would provide hundreds of millions of dollars for processing
facilities, food, water and medical supplies for migrants being held along
the southern border.
But the House bill also includes a slew of restrictions on how funds can and
cannot be used, including conditions for how children should be treated,
reporting and oversight requirements and reinstating aid to Central American
countries that the Trump administration had cut off.
Despite those increased restrictions and increase in oversight, however,
Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley, and Tlaib said they would not support
providing the CBP or ICE with any additional funds under the current
circumstances.
"These radicalized, criminal agencies are destroying families and killing
innocent children," they said in their statement. "It is absolutely
unconscionable to even consider giving one more dollar to support this
President's deportation force that openly commits human rights abuses and
refuses to be held accountable to the American people."
"That is why in good conscience," they continued, "we cannot support this
supplemental funding bill, which gives even more money to ICE and CBP and
continues to support a fundamentally cruel and broken immigration system."
Comparing the abuses now happening at the U.S. southern border and in
immigration detention centers nationwide as the kind of atrocities that the
U.S. government would rightly condmen if they were happening elsewhere in
the world, the lawmakers said such violations by agencies of their own
government cannot be ignored.
"We must be equitable in our outrage," they stated. "We must abolish ICE. We
must invest in community-based alternatives to detention. We must end the
system of mass detention and deportation of immigrants. We must create an
immigration system that reflects our values and respects the dignity and
humanity of all."
