McClellan Statement on Funding ICE and the Department of Homeland Security

Washington, D.C. -Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement after she voted against H.R. 7147, which provides funding to the Department of Homeland Security and, by extension, Immigration and Customs Enforcement:

"This past year has seen alarming and horrific breaches of fundamental constitutional rights at the hands of ICE. Overly aggressive agents have entered homes without a warrant; detained people - including citizens - without due process, some in horrendous conditions; terrorized immigrant communities and shed the blood of American citizens. In Virginia's Fourth, I hear from communities in Chesterfield, Henrico, Petersburg, Richmond and beyond about ICE escalating its tactics to the detriment of public safety and civil liberties.

"None of this has served to make us safer, and this disturbing pattern of behavior demands drastic action. Yet today's bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security does not go nearly far enough to rein in an out-of-control ICE and hold it accountable for the chaos and fear it has unleashed. I voted no.

"The DHS funding bill does allocate additional funding for body cameras, limit the Department's transfer authority and provide robust support for FEMA. While these provisions are encouraging, they fall short of addressing the lack of transparency and widespread impunity afforded to ICE by the Trump Administration - and the moral rot it has allowed to fester.

"The bare minimum requires that we protect our communities from operations that make people afraid to leave their houses and erode trust in our local and state law enforcement. ICE agents cannot be allowed to ignore the Constitution and do as they please, dragging people into the streets and even killing them. I stand alongside all those who have continued to sound the alarm on ICE's lawlessness and will continue to advocate for measures that will restrict and end this Administration's heightened campaign of terror."