Washington, DC — Americans are witnessing Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s mass deportation and anti-immigrant agenda in action and are recoiling from the lies, the violence, and the cruelty. Republicans are on the wrong side of the American people on the DHS shutdown, as their resistance to reforms and accountability – and insistence on continuing to fund the mass deportation crusade – make clear.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“Congressional Republicans would rather bow down to Donald Trump and Stephen Miller than keep America safe and secure. More importantly, the American people have told Congress and the President to put an end to the violence, chaos and deception. Americans want Trump and Congressional Republicans to work with Democrats on common sense policies to reign in ICE/CBP. Instead, they shut down FEMA and TSA. The American public is standing up in community after community to loudly and actively condemn the mass deportation crusade that threatens our collective safety and values. This administration and their GOP allies own all of it – the shutdown, the chaos, the lies, the violence. There will be a price to pay at the ballot box if they don’t listen to the American people’s hunger for change.”
See below examples of the lies, the violence and the cruelty on display – and the polling and assessments that capture the growing backlash:
- NBC News, “Trump’s DHS has shot 13 people during immigration enforcement operations since September. Here’s what to know,” noting, “Federal immigration officers have shot 13 people since September as the Department of Homeland Security has ramped up deportation operations around the country …The vehicle shootings raise serious concerns among policing experts about the rapidly expanding deployment of DHS personnel into American communities.”
- The New Republic, “ICE Chief Admits Agents Seem to Have Lied About Why They Shot Someone,” noting, “On January 14, two ICE officers were involved in a confrontation with two Venezuelan immigrants in Minneapolis that ended with one of the agents shooting one of the men in the leg. The officers claimed that the immigrants were assaulting them with a broom and a shovel … Today, that case has been dismissed and those officers are under investigation for lying under oath—according to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.”
- In his column for The Bulwark, “The Kids Aren’t Alright in Dilley,” Adrian Carrasquillo writes, “Liam Ramos was the tip of the iceberg. Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the facility from which 5-year-old Liam and his father were discharged on February 1, is a place where many other children are still being detained. Their stories are almost too much to bear … A former Dilley employee who served in the U.S. armed forces spoke to me—on condition of anonymity—about what they witnessed inside the facility … ‘They’re treated like they’re criminals, but most of them have done it the right way—they were picked up at their court appointments,’ the source added. ‘People complain that they’re doing it the ‘wrong way,’ but when they do it the right way, you detain and deport them, so it’s a lose-lose situation … They’re locked in there sad and depressed.'”
- Semafor, “Poll suggests voters back Democrats shutdown demands,” noting, “Democrats are feeling confident about their position headed into a partial DHS shutdown, armed with polling showing that voters back their approach (via Hart Research polling) … The specifics of Democrats’ demands have overwhelming support, too: Nearly eight in 10 surveyed support requiring judicial warrants for agents to search private property, for instance.” The findings echo those from other recent polling, including recent Navigator polling that found that a strong majority of Americans support each of 16 different reform proposals tested, with more criminal background checks for ICE agents and body cameras earning the highest support.
- Politico, “In South Texas, the GOP immigration hard line is now political kryptonite,” noting, “Backlash to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is putting vulnerable Republicans in a tough spot, forcing them to shift their tone to appease frustrated Hispanic voters — or risk losing key battleground seats.“
