Rep. Grijalva: “We will not give ICE another penny while this lawless agency goes unchecked”
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Adelita S. Grijalva delivered the following remarks at a House Democratic Caucus press conference this afternoon announcing a discharge petition to force a vote on legislation that would fund DHS agencies that are not related to immigration enforcement including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Immediately after her remarks, she proceeded to the House Floor to sign the petition.
Today marks the 33rd day of the partial government shutdown since funding for DHS expired on February 14. House Republicans have refused to allow a vote on legislation that would fund all non-immigration enforcement related agencies under DHS, prompting the discharge petition.
You can view her remarks here.
Good Afternoon,
My name is Adelita Grijalva and I am proud to represent Arizona’s Seventh Congressional District – a community that is all too familiar with this Administration’s cruel immigration agenda.
We are seeing ICE racially profile and terrorize Black and Brown communities - disappearing mothers, fathers, nanas, tatas, and children.
We are witnessing massive, for-profit detention facilities spring up out of thin air – in warehouses that are more suitable for housing livestock than human beings.
Meanwhile inside of existing facilities, people are dying from the most basic, treatable illnesses.
Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian refugee and father, died after developing a septic infection from a toothache. A toothache should not be a death sentence.
This is the same agency that also murdered Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, and Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three.
House Democrats stand firm: we will not give ICE another penny while this lawless agency goes unchecked.
Los demócratas se mantienen firmes: no daremos ni un centavo más a ICE mientras esta agencia sin control siga actuando sin rendir cuentas.
At the same time, we will make sure that federal employees at TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and CISA are paid the wages they deserve.
Republicans should come to the table, and stop holding federal workers hostage to shield this administration from accountability for its inhumane immigration policies.
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