Democrats forced a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year over their list of demands that included narrowing how and when ICE can arrest people, barring officers from wearing masks and imposing a stricter policy for use of force.
They didn’t get any concessions then, but if they win control of the House in November’s elections, they said that’s a blueprint for the kind of changes they’ll force on President Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A top goal will be to try to limit the aperture of arrests.
“The problem is, they’re going after Dreamers,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, California Democrat, referring to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, often without any hand in the decision, and who are seen as the most sympathetic figures in the immigration debate.
“There’s going to be a lot of reflection on what DHS operations should look like,” said Mr. Aguilar, who chairs the party’s House caucus. “But it should be based on the principle of fairness, and it should be based on using their vast powers on removing violent criminals who are unauthorized to be in this country.”
DHS has been a major focus for Democrats, who decry Mr. Trump’s push for mass deportations.
Some on the party’s left wing, such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, have called for abolishing ICE.
Those voices are growing, with three Democrats winning congressional primaries in June based in part on support for abolishing the deportation agency.
But Mr. Aguilar distanced himself from the idea.
“It’s not a phrase I use; it’s not a policy I believe in,” he said. “There will continue to be immigration enforcement. We should guide it to the most responsible way to remove violent criminals.”
DHS, in a statement to The Washington Times, said Democrats are mischaracterizing the administration’s immigration approach.
The department said nearly 70% of ICE arrests are migrants who either have criminal convictions or pending charges, and they are the priority.
Still, DHS said, all illegal immigrants should fear arrest.
“Our message is clear: If you come to our country illegally, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you,” the department said.
Democrats’ 10-point wishlist of changes at DHS, issued during the shutdown fight, would ban immigration officers from wearing masks and require them to display identifying information and wear body cameras so they can be tracked and monitored.
It would bar arrests at or near hospitals and clinics, schools, churches, daycare centers and a host of other locations.
And it would reform the way DHS handles use of force, with new standards for engaging in incidents and new rules about investigating them.
Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Texas Democrat, said those will be high priorities if Democrats gain control.
“We’ll start with what we’ve already talked about, which was our 10-point plan for real reforms in ICE,” she said.
