Sen. Bernie Sanders also demanded “fundamental reforms” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, saying they are “terrorizing” US communities.

US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday demanded the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller—a key architect of Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation campaign—as well as concrete reforms in exchange for any new funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Sanders (I-Vt.) called ICE a “domestic military force” that is “terrorizing” communities across the country. The senator pointed specifically to the agency’s ongoing activities in Minnesota and Maine, where officers have committed horrific—and deadly—abuses.

Sanders said that “not another penny should be given” to ICE or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “unless there are fundamental reforms in how those agencies function—and until there is new leadership at the Department of Homeland Security and among those who run our immigration policy.” The senator has proposed repealing a $75 billion ICE funding boost that the GOP approved last summer, an end to warrantless arrests, the unmasking of ICE and CBP agents, and more.

  • Tilgare@lemmy.world
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    9 hours ago

    I agree - but also, if anyone in congress deserves the benefit of the doubt, I’d say it’s Sanders. I think the first major step back off this ledge is probably restoring the status quo. If we started on the exact best path forward tomorrow, I’m not sure it would START with abolishing ICE. It would start by utterly neutering them first, then dismantling them after eliminating their internal ability to resist, because we both know it’ll be a loud and painful process no matter what.