Four prominent progressives — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — said Thursday they will vote against the appropriations bill that Congress is trying to pass before Friday.
The four freshman Democrats, lightning rods in the progressive movement, said they could not support the bill because of the money it gives to the Department of Homeland Security.
“By any reasonable measure, Donald Trump’s weaponization of ICE and CBP has been a failure,” the four wrote in a joint statement, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “The Department of Homeland Security does not deserve an increase in funding.”
All four congresswomen have been vocal advocates for the Abolish ICE movement.
Last month’s partial government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, began because lawmakers could not come to terms over how much funds to give to DHS for border security and a wall.
It left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay for 35 days, putting a massive strain on the safety of some federal functions.
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“We want to abundantly clear: this is not a rebuke of the federal workers or those who depend on the services they provide, but a rejection of the hateful policies, priorities and rhetoric of the Trump administration,” they wrote.
The current deal would give a nearly $1.4 billion in funds to DHS just for construction of border fencing using existing designs.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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