WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-08) released the following statement on his intention to vote against H.R. 7147, legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
"I join millions of Americans filled with outrage over ICE’s escalating reign of terror in our communities. Under Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, DHS and ICE have made all of us less safe and less free, trampling our Constitution, terrifying our people and blocking congressional oversight. I am voting to oppose this legislation to further fund Donald Trump’s DHS.
"In Maryland and across America, ICE agents are regularly intimidating, detaining, arresting, kidnapping, and shooting our people without probable cause. A great many of their targets are American citizens. ICE agents wear masks and carry weapons of war. They profile our neighbors based on how they look and speak, and they shutter schools and disrupt small businesses and workplaces in the course of their duties.
"We all saw the lawless shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis by a masked ICE agent. Renee leaves behind her three beloved children and a dedicated partner. Good’s killing in cold blood and Secretary Noem’s subsequent smearing of her as a 'domestic terrorist' exemplify this Administration’s violent, lawless and shameful tactics to destroy political opposition. By opposing ICE funding, we demand justice and accountability for a brutal killing that never should have happened.
"I hear every day from my constituents in Maryland’s Eighth Congressional District who demand an end to this chaos in our community and nationwide. Our people are outraged over indiscriminate immigration raids and masked, armed federal agents harassing innocent people on their streets.
"I oppose H.R. 7147 because rather than funding Trump’s Gangster State, we must rebuild our democratic institutions, defend our Constitution and stand strong against the throes of authoritarianism. In solidarity, we will defeat the forces propelling America toward fascism."
###