“Democrats don’t seem to be determined in any way to fund the Department of Homeland Security. They seem determined, however, to protect illegal immigrant criminals. The goal of the Democrat party is to abolish ICE and to defund American security.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor ahead of a vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Senator Barrasso slammed Democrats for prioritizing illegal immigrants over the safety of American citizens.

Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.

Sen. Barrasso’s remarks:

“I come to the Floor having heard the Minority Leader come to the Floor, and what he said was that the Democrats are going to vote against funding the Department of Homeland Security.

“Yesterday, the Democrats received the legislative text that they demanded. Just this morning, the Border Czar Tom Homan announced that the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota was over. There has been significant progress in the last two weeks. Enough progress that Democrats should join Republicans today to keep the Department of Homeland Security fully funded.

“Democrats don’t seem to be determined in any way to fund the Department of Homeland Security. They seem determined, however, to protect illegal immigrant criminals. The goal of the Democrat Party is to abolish ICE and to defund American security. Remember, the Democrats are the party of defund the police. They’re not for the safety and security of the American people. And a ‘no’ today will confirm that. And who pays the price? Well, the American people. Because FEMA will not be funded. The TSA will not be funded. The Coast Guard. The Secret Service. America’s cybersecurity defense. All defunded because Democrats are prioritizing illegal immigrant criminals ahead of the safety of the American people.

“The White House and Republicans are acting in good faith. Democrats should vote to keep the Department of Homeland Security open. The first duty of our government is to keep Americans safe. Today, the United States Senate faces a test. Republicans are going to answer that test by upholding our duty to the American people. The question is, are the Democrats going to join us? It sounds from listening to the Minority Leader that they have no intention of voting to keep America safe and secure. 

“Democrats seem to be determined to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Senate Republicans have acted repeatedly to secure the border, to strengthen law enforcement, to remove illegal immigrant criminals from our midst, from our neighborhoods, and from our communities. From the Laken Riley Act to the current funding bill, we have worked in good faith with the Democrats to make America safer.

“Now what we see are Democrats flip-flopping on funding the government. This was a bipartisan bill. Democrats helped negotiate it. The Democrat Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee, who is on the Floor right now, supported it. Democrats in the House voted for it. Republicans have offered Senate Democrats fair terms for reasonable reforms. Senate Democrats are now rejecting them. 

“Over the course of the past two weeks, the Democrats’ list of unreasonable demands continued to balloon. Democrats are now demanding an end to Supreme Court-approved administrative warrants. Supreme Court says its good; Democrats say, ‘nope, not good enough.’ Democrats are now demanding harsh restrictions on cooperation between federal immigration officers and state and local officials. Democrats are now demanding a ban on immigration enforcement at so-called ‘sensitive locations.’ You know, they’ve been hospitals in the past. Schools. Places of worship. Not enough, not for the Democrats. No, their demands are so extreme they’re now defining ‘sensitive locations,’

expanding it, to include – out of all places – polling places. Illegal immigrants should not be at polling places, and certainly not illegal immigrant criminals. Now, the Democrats want to add this to their list of ‘sensitive locations.’ Even Joe Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary said that was a step too far.

“Taken together, these conditions would materially slow immigration enforcement in this nation. Polling locations would become a sanctuary location for illegal immigrant criminals. People allowed to roam free in our communities. Democrats want to turn America into a sanctuary country. They’ve been for abolishing borders.

“Republicans believe many of the Democrat demands would undermine public safety and the rule of law, and so do the American people. They agree with us. We are not going to accept proposals from the Democrats that are going to make our communities less safe.

“What comes next is entirely up to Senate Democrats. If the Department of Homeland Security is defunded, the pain will extend throughout the country. Democrats know what the Department of Homeland Security does. It funds disaster relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It keeps Americans safe when they fly through TSA. It protects our nation from cyberattacks through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It oversees the Coast Guard.

“The Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard testified to Congress this week about the devastating impact of a loss of funding. He said 56,000 active members of the Coast Guard would work without pay. He said morale would plunge and the Coast Guard’s recruitment efforts would suffer.

“The record is clear. Republicans have acted to protect the American people. 96 percent of the government is already funded today because of our work passing 11 of the 12 appropriations bills. And we’re down to the final one. The last 4 percent of funding, and we’re ready to do it again.

“Democrats have two options. Option 1: vote today to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Option 2: stand side by side with illegal immigrant criminals. That is the choice. What’s it going to be? If they refuse to fund our nation’s security, they will have made a deliberate choice to practice the politics of pain. The American people will regrettably be the ones paying the price for the destructive demands of the radical left that is running their party today.”

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