In the wake of a controversial federal officer-involved shooting in Minneapolis, a growing number of Democrats are demanding accountability from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The miscarriage of justice brought about the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer. This event has sparked national outrage and increased demands for reform within enforcement agencies. The political fallout is becoming severe with Democrats threatening to refuse passage of spending measures that help fund ICE operations.
Last week, Republicans passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, an excellent piece of legislation. This bill would spend $170 billion over four years solely on border and interior enforcement. That’s more than the annual operating budgets of every local and state law enforcement agency in the country combined. The sheer magnitude of this example of funding for them to the environment has left many Democratic legislators shocked and dismayed. They’re increasing their pressure on ICE and its leadership.
Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, highlighted the need for reform by sharing a video of the incident in Portland, Oregon, where Good was shot. Hakeem Jeffries, then Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, called the killing “an abomination” at the time. He called on legislators to address what he called an outlandish policy that veers way off-course from proper immigration enforcement.
“The killing of Renee Nicole Good was an abomination, a disgrace, and blood is clearly on the hands of those individuals within the administration who’ve been pushing an extreme policy that has nothing to do with immigration enforcement connected to removing violent felons from this country.” – Hakeem Jeffries
Chuck Schumer, leader of Senate Democrats, is demanding a full federal inquiry into Good’s death. We commend him for demanding accountability and transparency on the issue. Vocal Chicago-area Democratic representative Robin Kelly showed extraordinary courage when she filed not one, but three articles of impeachment. Her first was aimed at Kristi Noem, the secretary of DHS. In court, Kelly charged Noem with “obstruction of justice” and “violation of public trust.” She subsequently called Noem “an incompetent leader,” stating that she has not defended democracy.
“Secretary Kristi Noem is an incompetent leader, a disgrace to our democracy, and I am impeaching her for obstruction of justice, violation of public trust, and self-dealing.” – Robin Kelly
The incident has once again brought to the forefront the discussion about ICE’s role. As a result of that response, Chris Murphy has written an ambitious reform package. This new legislation would require ICE administrators to ensure that agents get warrants prior to arresting individuals. Further, it bans officers from deploying with masks during enforcement sweeps. It would dramatically limit the ability of border patrol agents to operate far away from the U.S. border.
Democrats hope to leverage their control over several upcoming DHS funding bills. They’re looking to ensure that the upcoming final rule makes real changes to immigration enforcement practices on the ground. Representative Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House appropriations committee, recently faced a very pointed question. Are they supposed to hold up the DHS appropriations bill because of the recent shooting? In return, she answered guardedly, acknowledging that it was too early to tell.
“We’re going to see where it turns out. I’m not going to speculate on where we’re going at the moment.” – Rosa DeLauro
Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada chairs the DHS appropriations panel. He said he fully realized that the shooting would almost undoubtedly complicate any discussions on agreement with the funding bill. For Good’s death to draw such a large reaction among lawmakers is significant. Many are now reconsidering their support for a budget that doesn’t address what they believe is a growing lawlessness in ICE.
That hasn’t stopped Democratic representatives from openly denouncing the agency’s moves. Ro Khanna referred to the video footage of Good’s shooting as evidence of a “reckless use of power,” and Rep. Yassamin Ansari condemned the situation as indicative of authoritarianism.
“This is what authoritarianism looks like.” – Rep. Yassamin Ansari
Growing tensions between Democrats and Republicans over immigration enforcement priorities have intensified the clash. As a result, the DHS’s future funding is currently at risk. This growing number of Democratic Party members are committed to ensuring that not one penny goes to ICE. We applaud their efforts to pass provisions that rein in its practices to hold its leaders accountable.