Democratic rep floats government shutdown to punish ICE

Democratic Colorado Rep. Jason Crow said Friday that Congress should consider using funding fights to rein in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

For more than a month, Democrats blocked Republican efforts to reopen the government by insisting on extending COVID-era Obamacare premium subsidies that lapsed at the end of 2025. During an appearance on “The Arena with Kasie Hunt,” Crow was asked whether Democrats should leverage appropriations battles to change how ICE operates on the ground.

“Well, it’s not novel to suggest that we should use funding bills to actually impact policy with the government. That is literally our job, right?” Crow said when host Kasie Hunt pressed whether the Democrats should go into these funding fights to try to change how ICE operates on the ground. “The Congress exists to make sure the laws are followed, and then we use the funding bills to make better policy and to make sure that what the executive branch is doing is consistent with the morals and values of our communities and the places we represent.”

Crow accused ICE of operating without adequate oversight and said agents have harmed civilians and intimidated local communities. He cited examples involving masked officers and unmarked vehicles.

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“So, hell yes, we should be using the funding bills to make sure that a runaway rogue agency that is abusing our communities acts more responsibly. I used the example earlier of these masked ICE agents, right? You have masked agents in unmarked vehicles picking up American citizens, deporting people, beating mothers, intimidating little league teams,” Crow said. “Need I go on? The examples around the country, it has to end. It is not just our right as members of Congress to stop it, but it is our duty to stop the abuse.”

Crow directly tied his stance to opposition against President Donald Trump, saying he would not approve money for an agency he believes operates in a lawless or unconstitutional manner.

“It [government shutdown] should always be on the table, right? Why should we just say, ‘No, we’re going to just give them whatever they want at the end of the day’? Why would we tell Donald Trump that? I’m never going to tell him that, right? I am not going to give money to a government agency that’s going to act lawless, reckless, in an unconstitutional way,” Crow said. “There need to be guardrails put in place. We’re negotiating additional guardrails right now. The Senate is, the House is, and we’re going to see what comes out of those negotiations.”

The Democrats have repeatedly shown defiance toward ICE, with Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey refusingto let local police assist a federal immigration sweep tied to a massive Minnesota fraud scandal. Frey later escalated his opposition by telling ICE to leave the city after an enforcement operation ended with the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good.

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