McClellan Statement on Government Funding Package and Vote to Extend DHS Funding

Washington, D.C. -Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement after she voted against the Senate Amendments to H.R. 7148, which includes a two-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security:

"Since the House last passed a Department of Homeland Security funding bill, we have only seen greater strife, confusion and fear resulting from the Trump Administration's overly aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. Masked agents continue to break into homes. ICE continues to snatch and detain our most vulnerable, some as young as five years old, in deplorable conditions inside makeshift detention centers. U.S. citizens and lawfully present individuals have been detained and deported with little due process. Another U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, has been shot and killed after the murder of Renee Nicole Good. In city after city, DHS has spread terror as unidentifiable and untrained officers turn children into collateral, destabilize communities and cost lives. None of this has made us safer.

"Two weeks ago, I voted against funding DHS without significant reforms to address the public safety crisis created by the Trump Administration and its Congressional Republican enablers. Today, I again voted no because the American people resoundingly agree that the Administration has gone too far in enabling Secretary Kristi Noem and her lawless Department to run wild with impunity.

"While some of my Republican colleagues now admit we must pass urgent reforms to reign in DHS, a shaky assurance that they will engage in negotiations is simply not good enough. We cannot stand idly by while a paramilitary force roams our streets without oversight. ICE and Border Patrol's escalation of their tactics and blatant violations of our constitutional rights have further traumatized already shaken communities. This campaign of terror must end.

"I thank all those in my district and beyond who have spread awareness, shared stories and stood against this crisis. I will continue to work in Washington alongside local, state and federal partners to ensure we are holding ICE, Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security accountable for their actions."