Friday on CNN’s “The Arena,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is acting as President Donald Trump’s “paramilitary force on the streets of American cities.”
Garcia said, “What ICE is doing, wearing masks, throwing people to the ground, having no respect for the community, throwing tear gas into cars, detaining American U.S. citizens for no reason, and then letting them go days after detainment and now firing into moving vehicles that are they’re moving away from an officer, that does nothing but not only harm the trust in agencies in the federal government, but the trust in local law enforcement. Local law enforcement right now, across this across this country are also terrified of what ICE is doing and the harm it’s causing their own departments. It’s shameful.”
He added, “I think what Democrats need to do is absolutely reform it. First of all, ICE didn’t exist in its current form before 9/11. This is a new agency. And the ICE of Donald Trump, the ICE of today, which is larger than it’s ever been, is essentially Donald Trump’s own police force that he is using to carry out, in some cases, things that our own military have turned their back, that they won’t do on behalf of Donald Trump. He wants his own paramilitary force on the streets of American cities, and the actions that they’re taking are wrong. They’re causing damage to relationships within the community, between law enforcement and anyone with their own vision. And two eyes can see these videos, not just this one, but other incidents. That ICE right now is completely out of control under the direction of Kristi Noem.”
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