Jayapal Statement on DHS Funding “No” Vote

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Committee, released the following statement regarding her “no” vote on the continuing resolution to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

“I have been clear since the beginning of this funding fight: I will not be complicit in sending another dime to DHS as they continue their reign of terror on the Twin Cities and communities across this country.

“There is nothing that I am calling for today that I will not continue to call for over the next 10 days while Congress negotiates. We must immediately get these agents out of our cities. There must be due process, a requirement for judicial warrants and bond hearings, every agent must not only have a bodycam but be required to use it, take off their masks, and in cases of misconduct, there must be immediate, independent investigations. We cannot fold on our demands — our very democracy and people’s Constitutional rights are at risk.

“We cannot trust this DHS, which already has received an unprecedented funding spike for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to operate within the bounds of our Constitution or our laws. And for that reason, we cannot continue to fund them without significant and enforceable guardrails.”

Issues: Immigration