On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Story Is,” Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) defended continuing the shutdown of DHS despite heightened threats to the homeland by saying that “the focus is not on the right place” for ICE and Border Patrol.
Host Elex Michaelson asked, “We have seen different instances where the homeland has been targeted since this war in Iran began. Has Congress been briefed at all about the security threats happening in America now?”
Friedman answered, “Not that I’m aware of. And several of us in Los Angeles have asked to be briefed because we heard this vague announcement from the FBI that there [are] threats of drone attacks from Iran against California. So, the FBI put that out, out into the public, didn’t brief Congress, and now is sort of walking it all back. So, there’s a lot of chaos going on right now coming out of the White House, between what’s happening in Iran, what may be happening in Venezuela. The president is now talking about maybe Cuba. And, meanwhile, people at home feel less safe, not more safe.”
Michaelson then asked, “Of course, Republicans say, all the more reason that we should be funding DHS, and it’s time to stop this grandstanding when ICE is already funded to begin with. Why keep this thing going?”
Friedman responded, “Look, ICE and Border Patrol, through the Republican bill that passed last year, are funded beyond any funding they’ve ever had in the past. They are funded more than the United States Marines. So, think about that. So, they have plenty of funding. But, at a time when we’re going after taco sellers and daycare workers, we should be guarding the homeland, and they are not going after people who present a threat in this country. We know that the vast majority of ICE targets are random immigrants, many of whom are going through the process of becoming naturalized or having their cases adjudicated. So, the focus is not on the right place.”
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