Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke at a press conference, where he emphasized that ICE, CBP and the Department of Homeland Security are harming the American people and should all be dramatically reformed before continued funding for DHS is passed.
KATY TUR: Joining us, House Minority Leader Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. Thank you very much for joining us, sir.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Great to be with you.
KATY TUR: All right. Let’s talk about a deal. The White House says one thing. You say another. Republicans say a third. Are you going to get there?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the ball is in the Republicans’ court right now. We’ve made clear that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people, not brutalize or kill them. That shouldn’t be a controversial proposition. We know that ICE is completely and totally out of control. They’ve gone way too far, and they need to be reined in so that immigration enforcement in this country is fair, is just and is humane. And the only way to bring that about right now is for there to be dramatic changes in the way in which DHS conducts itself before any funding bill moves forward on Friday.
KATY TUR: There’s talk in the Senate about maybe extending this CR even further if there are good-faith negotiations. Some Democrats have said they believe that the White House and Republicans are trying to get there, and they may be willing to extend the CR. Do you believe the Republicans and the White House are negotiating in good faith? And would you agree to extending the CR?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I’m not supportive of a continuing resolution extension, in part because I haven’t seen any evidence that the White House and Republicans are willing to negotiate in good faith. We sent over a very detailed list of demands, common-sense proposals, including but not limited to a judicial warrant requirement that they’ve chosen to reject out of hand. The Fourth Amendment is not optional. It’s not inconvenient. It’s something that everyone should comply with. And our basic premise here is that ICE should be compelled to act like every other law enforcement agency in the country. That’s what we need to bring about. They’ve got legislative language that Senate and House Democrats have sent over to them. We’ve heard nothing but crickets in response in terms of a serious counterproposal. And so were we to agree to a continuing resolution in the absence of good-faith negotiations, that’s just a delay and a stall tactic that this administration will be utilizing.
KATY TUR: It sounds like you think there’s going to be a partial government shutdown on Friday.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we can either have dramatic reform of DHS, ICE, CBP and the way in which immigration enforcement is undertaken here in the country. Listen, these people, Katy, they promised that immigration enforcement was going to target violent felons who are here illegally. That’s not what’s taking place. They’re targeting American citizens, law-abiding immigrant families and American communities, which is why the American people are so horrified. And so, we either need dramatic change on the one hand, or listen, Republicans are going to make the decision to shut down FEMA, shut down the Coast Guard and shut down TSA, and that would be very unfortunate.
KATY TUR: I was going to ask about that, but again, it does sound like you’re pessimistic. What we understand about the White House’s counter-proposal is that they—it’s a non-starter, the judicial warrants. What else can you tell us about their counterproposal?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, listen, they’ve indicated that they’ve got a problem with judicial warrants. They have a problem with any reform of the manner in which detention is being conducted. They’ve got a problem with prohibiting ICE agents from wearing masks. By the way, police officers don’t wear masks. State troopers don’t wear masks. County sheriffs don’t wear masks. Again, ICE should conduct itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country. The White House apparently has a problem with independent investigations. Our view is that when ICE agents, under the color of law, are actually violating the rights of American citizens or law-abiding immigrant families, when they’re breaking state and local law, they should be held accountable. So, state and local officials should have the ability to investigate or prosecute violations of their law. These are all areas where the White House has indicated they’re not willing to go down that road, which basically means they wanna shut down DHS.
KATY TUR: Well, that to me sounds like there’s no compromise. There’s no middle ground. You’ve asked for a slew of things, and the White House is denying all of those things. So there’s nothing there that you guys can agree on as of now?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the White House has indicated that there’s some openness to mandating body cameras. That’s important, but that can’t be the only thing that is done moving forward. That’s not dramatic change, and the White House has not even gone as far as saying we agree, mandatory body cameras, no exceptions. Their response, even in that area, has been ambiguous.
KATY TUR: I’m curious if I can ask you more broadly about immigration while I have you, because we’re obviously in an election season. Immigration is a very hot topic right now. It’s one that Republicans have used to try to paint Democrats as weak on the border and weak on immigration. And they say that Democrats are harboring criminals and putting Americans’ lives at risk. I obviously know Democrats would deny all of those counts. I wonder, though, if you have thought of a strategy on immigration for your party going into the midterms. And I’m just curious if we could put it between these two poles here. On the one hand—I’m going to play this—a sound bite from President Obama back when he was running for office the first time—I think it’s 2008—in a debate with Hillary Clinton. And then the second one is, I believe, Delia Ramirez, who spoke today at this House hearing with ICE and CBP, saying what she believes should happen to that agency. Let me play both.
RECORDING OF FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It is absolutely critical that we tone down the rhetoric when it comes to the immigration debate because there has been an undertone that has been ugly. Oftentimes, it has been directed at the Hispanic community. We have seen hate crimes skyrocket in the wake of the immigration debate as has been conducted in Washington, and that is unacceptable. We are a nation of laws and we are a nation of immigrants, and we can reconcile those two things. So, we need comprehensive reform. We need comprehensive reform, and that means stronger border security.
RECORDING OF REP. DELIA RAMIREZ: As I’ve said before, DHS, ICE and CBP, they’re not really rogue. Congress designed DHS to violate our rights under the pretense of securing our safety. I’m going to say it loud and clear, and I’m proud to stand by what I say. DHS cannot be reformed. It must be dismantled, and something new must take its place, because if we let DHS persist, there will continue to be a weapon that can be pointed at anyone the government considers the public enemy.
KATY TUR: So, among the things that President Obama proposed back then was that immigrants had to learn English. He believed that anybody who crossed here illegally had to get to the back of the line. There was a fine that should be paid as well. It’s not something you hear generally speaking from Democrats today. So if you’re looking at the two polls that we just put in front of you, where do you believe the Democratic Party messaging should be?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, first, we believe that the border should be safe, it should be strong and it should be secure. We certainly believe that our immigration system is broken and it needs to be fixed, but it should be fixed in a comprehensive way and in a bipartisan way. At the same period of time, we are a nation of immigrants and, of course, a nation of laws as well, as President Obama indicated, and we can reconcile the challenges there. That means that we, as Democrats, we’re going to always stand up for Dreamers, stand up for farm workers, stand up for law-abiding immigrant families who are contributing to this country in so many meaningful ways. And the American people know it, which is why they supported the notion of targeting violent felons who are here illegally and figuring out a pathway towards citizenship for others who are here working hard in their communities in order to bring to life that notion that we have been a nation of immigrants, are a nation of immigrants and part of our exceptionalism will continue to be as a nation of immigrants.
KATY TUR: Leader Jeffries, I know I’ve run out of time with you, but I appreciate you joining us, and if you ever want to have a longer conversation about immigration and where the party should stand on it, I’d love to have you back, sir. Thank you so much for coming on today.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you so much.
Full interview can be watched here.
###