On Tuesday’s edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press NOW,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) criticized ICE but said that “I don’t think that you just can cut off funding completely, but what I want to do is, what kind of training are you doing? They have to answer Congress, and, yes, maybe we hold the power of the purse at some point, but, right now, we need to see what is happening.”
After Duckworth talked about funding, host Kelly O’Donnell asked, “[W]hat I hear in your response is that you don’t think using a legislative tactic of withholding funding from the department is right at this time, is that fair?”
Duckworth responded, “I think it’s more nuanced than that. I don’t think that you just can cut off funding completely, but what I want to do is, what kind of training are you doing? They have to answer Congress, and, yes, maybe we hold the power of the purse at some point, but, right now, we need to see what is happening. ICE agents have shown a repeated pattern of violence and lawlessness in Illinois. The killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota is an alarm bell that ICE must be reined in to protect the rights and safety of our communities. We have to hold them accountable. We’re doing that by the lawsuits that the states of Illinois and Minnesota are pushing forward with. But, I, as a member of Congress, first and foremost, just want answers of what kind of training.”
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