Sen. Bernie Sanders also demanded āfundamental reformsā to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, saying they are āterrorizingā US communities.
US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday demanded the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Millerāa key architect of Donald Trumpās violent mass deportation campaignāas well as concrete reforms in exchange for any new funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In remarks on the Senate floor, Sanders (I-Vt.) called ICE a ādomestic military forceā that is āterrorizingā communities across the country. The senator pointed specifically to the agencyās ongoing activities in Minnesota and Maine, where officers have committed horrificāand deadlyāabuses.
Sanders said that ānot another penny should be givenā to ICE or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) āunless there are fundamental reforms in how those agencies functionāand until there is new leadership at the Department of Homeland Security and among those who run our immigration policy.ā The senator has proposed repealing a $75 billion ICE funding boost that the GOP approved last summer, an end to warrantless arrests, the unmasking of ICE and CBP agents, and more.
Iām reading mate. Youāre not. I already said the problem is that you still think liberal democracy is functioning. It is not. Pretending that it is is why you canāt understand my perspective.
I want you to just pretend for a moment that you have accepted that there is no democracy at the federal level. Itās done.
Then, think of the perspective Iāve given you. What is our remaining option? State government.
The only meaningful thing Sanders can do is accept that the federal government has been taken over by fascist and use his platform to encourage state governments to take a stand and organize a resistance to the fascist federal government. One way of doing that is abolishing ICE in the states.
Heās not doing that. If he was, people like you would not be fooled into thinking that any legislative actions in the federal government will matter. They donāt. And youāre arguing for why they still do. Do you get that?
Stop explaining the political maneuvering. It makes you look silly. I get what youāre talking about. I just disagree with you on a fundamental level. The legislative branch of the federal government has no power. Sanders should be shouting this and telling state governments to take action to prepare. Instead, heās pretending itās still functioning.
You can disagree with me on whether it still has power or not. But youāre not. Youāre just talking about political maneuvering that I am fundamentally saying DOES NOT MATTER. Do you get my perspective?