Too many Democrats love harsh rhetoric. This year Democrats have taken up claims to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They get on stage at rallies for their liberal base voters and join in the mantra to abolish ICE. Some Democrat candidates go so far as to call ICE “a terrorist organization,” such as that former TV star who is running in New York. But when it comes to actually backing up their words, congressional Democrats fold fast.
Last week House Democrats wanted to push a bill through congress that would actually abolish ICE. Rep. Mark Pocan was the sponsor and Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Adriano Espaillat were the co-sponsors of this silliness. But then they completely backed off. Then House Democrats started to call out Republicans for playing politics and creating an unserious vote, even though Democrats were the ones who wanted the bill in the first place. Now they claim that no Democrats, including the sponsor of the bill, will vote to abolish ICE. They are spinning this embarrassment into a tactical maneuver to give floor speeches that would lambast the legal enforcement of current immigration laws. None of this makes sense from a legislative perspective.
House Republicans originally welcomed this nonsense the right way; by agreeing to move the abolish ICE bill forward for an official roll call vote. Let’s get everyone on the record of who really wants to abolish ICE. Just yelling with your supporters at a rally with no substantial dialogue on the issue is easy to galvanize the base. But actually making such a ridiculous claim happen through legislation is another thing. So let’s have a vote.
But now House Republicans won’t go forward with the abolish ICE bill. Instead they will hold a vote Wednesday on a resolution that commends ICE for their hard work, which is weak. A bill that calls for the end of ICE is real, while a resolution has now legal backing. It is believed that some Republicans got cold feet about holding the vote as it may alienate some voters in important districts. That’s unfortunate.
And, of course, it’s fair to assume that ICE officers don’t want to be used it any political games. But I don’t see this as a game. Democrats had a bill, so let it be voted on. Sure, I can predict the scorecard close enough to say with confidence that it would not have passed, but aren’t bills supposed to be voted on? If Democrats didn’t want this then Pocan and his friends wouldn’t have submitted the bill in the first place.
Voting on an abolish ICE bill would get everyone on the record. If any Democrat was irresponsible enough to vote of it, then there would be a public record to spread around. If every Democrat, including the sponsor of the bill, had voted against it then that would show just how unserious Democrats are about legislating.
ICE officers certainly don’t deserve to be a political pawn. This blog supports ICE and the work they are doing to keep our border secure. They are hardworking law enforcement officers who are simply enforcing current law. Anyone who calls ICE “a terrorist organization” is unfit to serve in any elected office in this country.
.