Trump has threatened to deploy ICE agents to airports if an agreement on Department of Homeland Security funding is not reached. Despite lacking the necessary training, Trump has instructed ICE to ‘get ready’ to be present at airports as early as Monday, the 23rd.
When did ICE become Trump’s private force, acting solely at his direction? In recent months, we have seen increased funding for ICE while social services are being cut. More money goes to an agency Trump uses to target states he opposes and intimidate his critics.
This is why Democrats must not agree to fund DHS without strict limitations on ICE. Requiring ICE to follow the law should be a given, not a negotiating point. Democrats should demand the strongest possible restrictions. ICE should receive no additional funding from these negotiations. In fact, its budget should be clawed back. ICE killed 32 people last year and has already killed 13 people this year. This agency is escalating and getting more dangerous year after year.
ICE is the reason the Department of Homeland Security is shut down. Republicans have repeatedly refused to fund parts of DHS other than ICE. Republicans refuse to limit ICE’s power because it would weaken what amounts to Trump’s personal army. There are no kings in America, so we must ensure no agency becomes a standing army for any one person’s whims.
