Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) needs “dramatic, bold, meaningful and transformational changes.”
Host Kristen Welker said, “Leader Jeffries, let me ask you about another aspect of this. As you well know, President Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week, something you and other Democrats have been calling for. Democrats continue to block funding for DHS amid these demands that there be changes to ICE in the president’s deportation policies. Is the change in leadership at DHS enough for you and other Democrats to reopen the government, to start defunding DHS again?”
Jeffries said, “Well, again, let’s understand Republicans control the House, the Senate and the presidency. They’ve made an affirmative decision that they would rather shut down FEMA, shut down the Coast Guard, and shut down TSA as opposed to getting ICE under control. What we want is a situation where ICE is actually conducting itself, like every other law enforcement agency in the country, as opposed to using taxpayer dollars to brutalize or, in some cases, kill American citizens.”
Welker said, “Is replacing Noem is a big enough step for you to get to a Yes?”
Jeffries said, “No, it’s certainly not. What we need is a change in policy, not simply a change in personnel. Now, Kristi Noem was a disgrace. It was totally unqualified. She’s a pathological liar. She called American citizens domestic terrorists without any justification whatsoever. But we need dramatic, bold, meaningful and transformational changes to get ICE under control. That’s what the American people want to see. That’s what we’re working hard to deliver.”
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