Department of Homeland Security
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last month, America watched in horror as Federal immigration officers shot and killed, in two separate incidents, U.S. citizens as part of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Renee Good and Alex Pretti should still be with us today.
Remember why we went there? The stated purpose, according to the Trump administration, was very clear and understandable. We were going after the rapists, murderers, terrorists, child predators, and criminally insane who had come across the border illegally during the Biden administration. They were to be found and removed and held accountable for their conduct.
No matter where you are on the political spectrum, that mission sounded sensible. Why would we ever allow those dangerous people in the country either by accident or intention, and why wouldn't we do everything we could to remove them?
The President promised he was going after ``the worst of the worst''--``the worst of the worst.'' So two people in Minneapolis lost their lives. Were they ``the worst of the worst''?
Renee Good, mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a nurse at the VA hospital in Minneapolis, an extraordinary person, as we have come to know--American citizens, both--neither one of them fit the categories that the President railed against during his rallies and campaign. Instead, these two innocent people were taken from their families and their communities, far too soon, in instances of senseless violence at the hands of the U.S. Government.
Donald Trump's immigration enforcement operations have not restored the so-called law and order that he promised and have not targeted ``the worst of the worst.'' They have done exactly the opposite. In every place the Department of Homeland Security's roving squads have descended--whether Chicago, Minneapolis, or any other city--they have brought chaos, disorder, and fear. These operations have created a public safety crisis, with families terrified to leave their homes.
I have seen it firsthand in Chicago. I go into the Hispanic areas of that great city, and the people are living in fear. They are afraid to leave their homes. Parents and school administrators are struggling to explain ICE attacks to children, and Americans are desperately trying to protect their neighbors.
The American people support orderly immigration enforcement that removes violent criminals from our streets, but how we do it matters. Indiscriminate violent roundup of American citizens, legal residents, and people with no criminal record erodes civil liberties and threatens the rule of law.
The American people have seen this play out with their own eyes, and they have had enough. This is the time to rein in this lawlessness now. Congress has 2 weeks to act. With the support of the American people, Senate Democrats stood firm and made clear we would not provide the votes to increase funding for the administration's illegal terror campaign.
I am pleased to say that last Friday night, the Senate passed five remaining bipartisan appropriations bills, and all the bills together that we have passed fund 96 percent of the Federal Government. Over the course of the next 2 weeks, we will continue to negotiate with the White House and Republicans to deliver much needed reforms to the DHS appropriations bill and to rein in the illegal excesses of ICE.
As part of those negotiations, Democrats stand strong for the following commonsense measures. First, Federal immigration agents need to remove their masks, turn on their body cameras, and wear visible, clear identification. I have met with law enforcement officials--people who have given their lives to it, career people--and asked them: Why do you need to be masked? Why do you need to have secret police in the United States of America?
They said: You don't.
Unfortunately, it undermines public confidence in law enforcement across the board. To allow these masks and to not require carrying video cameras is to invite the problems which we have already witnessed.
ICE is not a secret police force. It wasn't meant to be, despite what President Trump may wish.
Second, we need to end the roving patrols. ICE does not have free will to do as they please. This is a nation of laws, guided by the Constitution that everyone, including ICE, must abide by. This means Federal immigration officials must stop racial profiling and random arrests.
You have seen the videotapes, and I have as well. In a Home Depot parking lot, a Latina--Hispanic woman--gets out of the car and starts to walk into the store and is stopped by ICE agents who want her to show proof of her citizenship. That kind of thing is not what we expect in America but, rather, in authoritarian regimes, which have no respect for individuals.
They cannot detain Americans for hours or use excessive force against them just because they peacefully protested in support of neighbors and friends.
ICE squads descending on homes, bursting through doors to conduct arrests, isn't just violent and frightening, but it is unconstitutional. Agents must obtain a judicial warrant signed by a neutral judge, not an administrative warrant in-house, to enter private property.
You have seen the videos--we have all seen them--where they are trying to crash down doors by hitting them with axes. Those individuals don't have the authority to do that.
What I am quoting--the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution--is black-letter constitutional law.
Third, we need accountability. ICE and Border Patrol squads can't indiscriminately smash in car windows, use tear gas on protesters, and shoot at people without accountability. This is America. This is unacceptable.
A uniformed code of conduct will rein in aggressive and excessive immigration enforcement to bring about accountability and, hopefully, begin the long process of restoring trust. When the immigration agents fail to follow the code of conduct, the Department of Homeland Security must coordinate with State and local officials to conduct a fair and independent investigation.
In conclusion, as these negotiations continue to play out, I will continue to do my part to hold the administration accountable. After I asked Secretary Noem of the Department of Homeland Security to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee all of last year, she refused. Now she says she just might be available in 4 weeks and find some time in her schedule to finally appear before a congressional committee in a public hearing and answer questions, under oath, about her mismanagement--tragic mismanagement--of this Agency. She has a lot of explaining to do. We should hold her to account, both Democrats and Republicans.
My office will continue to document and report any and all instances of excessive force and abuse at the hands of immigration agents in Chicago and elsewhere.
As Federal District Court Judge Biery said in his order, this weekend, requiring the release of Liam Ramos from ICE detention, ``Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency. And the rule of law be damned.''
What a condemnation of what is going on in Minneapolis and Chicago and other States.
It might be hard to imagine, but, one day, the Trump Presidency will end. The statute of limitations for these crimes, however, will extend beyond that date. When the day comes that Donald Trump leaves the White House and his successor moves in to finally bring some order to this chaos, there will be accountability. The Department of Justice, free from its weaponized quest of retribution against Trump's perceived enemies, will have all the information it needs--video proof--to pursue criminal charges against government officials who actually are violating people's rights.
In the meantime, my colleagues and I will continue to shine a light on these abuses, uphold the tenets of basic human decency, and defend the rule of law.
I urge my Republican colleagues to swiftly agree to these Democratic reforms in DHS funding so that we may actually put a check on the excesses of this administration and this national terror campaign.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source