Senate Dems Finally Realized They Shouldn’t Fund ICE. It Only Took a Second Murder
Trump’s agents murdered Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. Now, Republicans have lost the votes they need to expand ICE’s budget.
Senate Democrats appear to have the votes to block the Department of Homeland Security’s funding bill, in the wake of Donald Trump’s immigration agents executing a US citizen in Minneapolis on Saturday who was legally observing their operations.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that “Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward.” The American Prospect reported Sunday night that Schumer has the votes to block the measure. Zeteo has worked to obtain comments from every Democratic senator and can confirm that, as of Monday, 44 Democratic senators have pledged to vote against the DHS funding bill in its current form. That is more than enough to stall the legislation.
The DHS appropriations bill was widely expected to pass the Senate, even after an ICE agent murdered Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis earlier this month, setting off weeks of protest and resistance against ICE locally and around the country. The political situation has now changed, following the horrifying murder of Alex Pretti, another Minneapolis resident, on Saturday.
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. Under Senate rules, Republicans need the votes of at least seven Democrats to pass the legislation – and now they don’t have them.