Dem
47
GOP
53
Congressional Democrats have their list of demands, if they are going to vote for a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Congressional Republicans are not especially interested, since negotiating legislation is apparently the job of Donald Trump. And yesterday, the news broke that, as far as the White House is concerned, one of the Democrats' demands is a dealbreaker.
So, which demand is it? We would say it's the one that the blue team and its voters care about the most: The requirement that ICE officers (and other DHS personnel) have actual judicial warrants, as opposed to permission slips (aka "administrative warrants") written by some DHS flunky. Reportedly, the administration describes this demand as a "complete non-starter."
There are some items on the Democrats' demand list, like the masks, that maybe they can back off a bit. But this one? We just don't see how. First, those pseudo-warrants are, perhaps, the single most important tool that ICE uses to trample on people's civil liberties. If the blue team gave in on that, their base would be spitting-fire furious. On top of that, this issue speaks to a fundamental issue with Trump, namely that he tramples on the prerogatives of the other branches, and that he's erasing checks and balances. So, not only can the Democrats not give in on this when it comes to the specific concern of ICE/DHS, they also cannot give in on this when it comes to the broader concern of good governance and the sanctity of the Constitution.
On that point, let's pass along a message we got from reader D.G. in Occupied Saint Paul, MN:
Despite what the government wants you to believe, the situation on the ground in the Twin Cities has not changed much in the last week. If anything. ICE has stepped up its intimidation of observers, smashing windows and dragging people out of their cars, issuing verbal threats and illegally detaining citizens and documented immigrants. You know, typical well-trained law enforcement behavior.
But my main reason for writing is to once again call on the Democrats to hold firm. Don't fund DHS if that's what's necessary. Frankly, their 10 negotiating points are pathetic. Every one of them is normal, ordinary police behavior in a functional constitutional Republic. This is the bare minimum. ICE needs to be dismantled.
Where is the call for using marked vehicles? ICE has already caused several crashes due to their reckless driving. They have roughed up citizens. They allowed literal Nazi Jake Lang to ride in the back of an open U-Haul, through protesters, covering them with pepper spray and shooting paintball guns into the crowd. Jake Lang had a restraining order against him. Why was no one in his group arrested? They arrest protesters all the time.
The mass media has done a terrific job of misleading people about what is going on. Everything seems focused on Minneapolis, but the same things are happening across the river in Saint Paul. The same things are happening in the suburbs like Roseville, Little Canada, Eagan, Richfield, Saint Louis Park and Maple Grove. The same things are happening in the medium-sized cities like Rochester, Saint Cloud, Mankato and Duluth. The same things are happening in the small towns like Willmar, St. Peter and Northfield.
This is not a urban vs. rural issue. It isn't a Democrat vs. Republican issue. It's a human rights issue and it's happening all over our state.
To be absolutely clear, ICE out of Minnesota is not enough. The last thing Minnesotans want is for this chaos to be inflicted on another community. ICE and CBP must be dismantled and a new organization put in its place. We are past the time for reform. The culture is deeply warped from legitimate border control to intimidation and control of people. Shut down DHS if you have to. We're not getting any funding from this administration anyway.
Again, is there ANY plausible way that the Democrats can back down on the judicial warrants? We can't see how. It would be gross political malpractice.
So, unless someone (presumably the White House) blinks very soon, the 2 weeks will run out, and then DHS will partly shut down. ICE, as it turns out, will still be able to operate, because it has a pot of money from the Big, Beautiful Bill. We erred on that point previously. But TSA will shut down, and FEMA, and the Coast Guard, and a host of others. Then, both sides would point the finger at the other side, and the voters would get to decide who wins. We still think that the Democrats would have the much stronger hand in that scenario, but the proof is in the pudding. (Z)