WASHINGTON — Immigration and Customs Enforcement has congressional Democrats disjointed.
Since the Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, nearly half of House Democrats have endorsed an effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Earlier this week, though, Democratic leaders signed off on a measure that would let billions of dollars flow to the anti-immigrant agency.
Many rank-and-file Democrats are livid.
“We must abolish Trump’s ICE,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), who is running for U.S. Senate, announced in a recent statement.
“I will not support one more dollar for ICE as long as this agency — operating without oversight and accountability — continues to kill and injure our neighbors.
“We saw what they did to Renee Good. We saw how they acted in Chicago. Secretary Noem must immediately testify before our Oversight Committee about ICE’s impunity and the dangerous policies that enabled these tragedies.”
Still, even as many of their members are itching for a fight, Democratic leaders are scrambling to avoid another government shutdown on Jan. 31, so soon after the end in November of the longest shutdown ever, which the party prompted over health care costs.
‘Lawlessness’
Amid ICE violence in Minnesota, more than 100 House Democrats have endorsed a long-shot effort to impeach Noem.
“This is what Vermonters want,” Rep. Beca Balint (D-VT) told Raw Story. “They can’t stand seeing this lawlessness.”
Critics are especially incensed that Minnesota lawmakers were turned away from inspecting an ICE facility after Good was killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, after Noem instituted a seven-day notice policy for such inspections of federal facilities.
Democrats say Noem’s only been emboldened by unrest in recent weeks.
“They can do whatever the f— they want, and they will have no accountability,” Balint said.
In President Donald Trump’s first term, he was impeached twice by House Democrats and acquitted twice in the Senate. In December, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) dropped articles of impeachment against the president once again.
That measure has just one co-sponsor, Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN). In contrast, the effort to impeach Noem introduced last week by Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) now has 100 co-sponsors.
“So there’s obviously a lot of clearly impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors the president has committed,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) told Raw Story.
“But at this point, I think that it makes sense to impeach Noem because of her leadership at the Department of Homeland Security.
“A mother was shot in the face, and then she took to national TV and lied for days. So, I mean, she is literally murdering people under her leadership.”
‘Not going anywhere’
While rank-and-file Democrats are itching to appease their increasingly angry base, no members of House Democratic leadership have signed onto the effort to impeach Noem.
“Listen, it is a tool that is available to us, and we are exploring all options,” Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the House Democratic Whip, told Raw Story.
“Impeachment is also a process.”
Like most processes in the House, impeachment is controlled by the majority party. That is why many senior Democrats have refused to sign on — for now.
“Too early,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) told Raw Story. “I embrace the [Speaker Emerita Nancy] Pelosi philosophy, which is a lot of people can impeach themselves.
“An impeachment resolution would make me and other people feel good but the truth of the matter is it’s not going to go anywhere and even if we got passed in the House, which we wouldn’t, you know, it’s not going anywhere in the Senate.”
Cleaver and Democratic leaders are still smarting from Trump winning back the White House after being impeached twice, which no other president has managed.
“I think there are a lot of people who just want us to do it as a declaration, you know, fighting,” Cleaver said.
“We have to be very, very strategic, and I think sometimes when we start talking about impeachment, especially when we talk about Trump, I think that it can and has worked to his advantage.
“You know, people say, ‘See, they just have Trump derangement syndrome,’ or whatever they call it.”
‘No meaningful constraints’
With government funding set to run out next week, many rank-and-file Democrats are questioning why leaders have signed off on a funding measure that maintains ICE’s $10 billion funding.
“The proposed appropriations bill … puts no meaningful constraints on the growing lawlessness of ICE, and increases funding for detention over the last appropriations bill passed in 2024,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) announced.
“Democrats have no obligation to support a bill that not only funds the dystopian scenes we are seeing in Minneapolis but will allow DHS to replicate that playbook of brutality in cities all over this country.”
While Democrats allocated $20 million for body cameras for ICE agents, along with $2 million for de-escalation training, other efforts to rein in ICE were left out of the measure.
That even has party leaders frustrated, though they’re trying to get the rank-and-file to focus that anger and energy on winning this November’s midterm elections.
“I understand that many of my Democratic colleagues may be dissatisfied with any bill that funds ICE,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Democrats’ lead appropriator in the House, said in a statement.
“I share their frustration with the out-of-control agency.”
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