House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Leads Opposition to New DHS Bill: 'ICE Is Completely and Totally Out of Control'

Earlier this week, Congress announced plans to roll out a massive bill aimed at fully funding the government ahead of another shutdown deadline at the end of the month. The legislation is expected to include funding for multiple departments, including the Department of Homeland Security, which has faced sharp criticism in recent weeks over violent clashes involving federal immigration agents.

As lawmakers prepare to vote on a bill that would nearly triple the budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, House Democrats say funding the measure would not deliver any of the reforms they have demanded, particularly since shooting of Renee Good by ICE officers in Minneapolis.

According to Axios, most Democrats believe the bill does not go far enough to constrain ICE and Customs and Border Patrol officers, while some are still inclined to support it, arguing that another government shutdown would be worse.

While some lawmakers said they remain undecided, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told the party's caucus during a closed-door meeting that he opposes the bill, according to five sources familiar with the meeting cited by Axios.

Speaking in an interview on MS NOW's Morning Joe, Jeffries said ensuring ICE and federal immigration agents are held accountable is "common sense" while also mentioning that ICE is "completely and totally out of control."

"Clearly, there need to be accountability mechanisms put into law so that ICE conducts itself like every other law enforcement agency in the United States of America. That's not too much to ask. So some of the things that we believe are appropriate in this instance, and are demanding be part of any final bill, are a warrant requirement. That's common sense," he said.

Axios also reported that at least five House Democrats spoke against the legislation. During the meeting, Jeffries said Democratic leadership made five requests for ICE accountability measures and related language that were rejected by Republicans, the sources said.

Advocacy groups are also opposing the bill. The political action group MoveOn said it sent more than 40,000 letters over a 72-hour period opposing any funding for ICE and Border Patrol "until their lawless and dangerous behavior is reined in," according to MoveOn spokesperson Britt Jacovich.

Despite the pushback, Axios reported that several battleground-district and centrist Democrats left the caucus meeting saying they remained undecided, including Nevada Rep. Susie Lee and Illinois Rep. Brad Schneider, chair of the center-left New Democrat Coalition.

"It's going to be a tough vote for everyone," Lee, who represents battleground-district House Democrats in leadership, told Axios.

According to The Hill, the DHS portion of the bill includes a limited set of reforms aimed at winning Democratic support, including a $115 million reduction in funding for ICE enforcement and removal operations, a cut of 5,500 ICE detention beds, and a $1.8 billion reduction in Border Patrol funding. The bill also strengthens oversight of ICE through the Office of Inspector General and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Other Democrats, however, have been outspoken in their opposition. Rep. Ro Khanna of California said in a social media video that he plans to vote against the bill and help lead the effort to block it.

"It's a moral disgrace. It has an $18 billion-plus buildup for the ICE agency," Khanna said. "They are tripling ICE's budget at a time when ICE is ripping American citizens out of their cars and arresting and shooting American citizens."