The Democratic minority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, announced that his party will block in that chamber the allocation of additional federal funds for the Department of Homeland Security, in charge of border security and immigration, following the death of Alex Pretti during a raid against a migrant in the city of Minneapolis.
The Democratic leader’s statement opens the possibility that the country will once again face a new federal closure starting next January 31 after having experienced the longest one in its history between October and November of last year.
After 43 days of federal administrative suspension, Democrats and Republicans approved provisional financing packages in November so that the Government could function until next Friday, a date before which the pending budgets for the rest of the fiscal year (which ends on September 30) must be approved to avoid another closure.
“Democratic senators will not provide the votes necessary to pass the appropriations bill if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill is included,” Schumer wrote in his X profile.
“Democrats sought sensible reforms in the DHS spending bill, but due to Republicans’ refusal to oppose the president (Donald Trump), the DHS bill is woefully insufficient to curb ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) abuses,” the senator adds.
Schumer assures that “what is happening in Minnesota is appalling and unacceptable in any American city” and assures that he himself will not vote in favor of that allocation package if it is not amended and the Department of Homeland Security, which manages ICE, receives less funding.
What’s happening in Minnesota
Immigration agents shot dead Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, during an operation to capture an immigrant, in what is the second incident of this type in less than three weeks in Minneapolis, where on January 7 a woman, Renee Good, was shot dead by an ICE officer.
The event has led to the condemnation of prominent members of the Democratic party, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has also announced that she will vote against the law to finance the DHS, who have also asked to end the raids in Minneapolis.
The large-scale raids in Minneapolis, which have seen the arrival of five times the number of federal agents than the city’s entire police force, were ordered by the Trump Administration in early January, when a conservative YouTuber’s documentary brought cases of federal funds misappropriated by daycares run by members of the Somali community back into focus.
A video published on Facebook and verified by media such as NBC News shows the event.
The images show half a dozen or more masked officers surrounding a man who struggles with them and appears to be resisting on the ground.
At one point one of the officers appears to hit him with the butt of a gun just before another operative opens fire on the individual, who now remains completely motionless on the ground while the immigration personnel move away.
The same newspaper also quotes officials from the Department of Homeland Security, which supervises immigration agencies, assuring that the victim was armed.
The large-scale raids in Minnesota were ordered by the Trump Administration in early January, when a conservative YouTuber’s documentary brought back into focus the cases of federal funds misappropriated by daycare centers run by members of the Somali community, which the president himself has repeatedly disqualified.
A congressional commission calls the heads of immigration agencies to testify
A commission of the United States Congress has called the heads of the country’s immigration agencies to testify to answer for the highly questioned actions of the federal agents of the anti-immigration service (ICE) during their operations in several cities in the country.
It so happens that the subpoena has been announced by a Republican: the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Andrew R. Garbarino, less than 24 hours after the death in Minneapolis of nurse Alex Pretti, riddled by shots fired by federal ICE agents.
The congressman has requested the appearance of the head of ICE, Todd Lyons; the chief commissioner of the United States Customs and Border Protection services, Rodney Scott, and the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, before the full commission.
Garbarino has offered the three a series of dates from February 10 to March 18 so they can choose the one that best suits them.
“The hearing will provide the opportunity to supervise each agency and ensure that they fulfill their duty to protect the homeland,” explains Garbarino, who has expressed his interest in the heads of these agencies “effectively using the historical resources that have been provided to them” in the spirit of “reconciliation to strengthen public security.”
