Larson Blasts Republican Coast Guard and TSA Shutdown to Shield ICE from Accountability
East Hartford, CT – Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement ahead of the Department of Homeland Security shutting down on Saturday due to a lapse in funding. Republicans are refusing to negotiate in good faith on efforts to rein in the Trump Administration’s abusive immigration enforcement tactics, Coast Guardsmen and TSA officers will go without pay, while ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continue to receive funding from Donald Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill.’
“Some of our civil servants and troops will be forced to work without pay for the third time in the last six months, thanks to Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress,” said Larson. “ICE is shooting American citizens in the streets, snatching mothers from their children in our communities, and illegally blocking Members of Congress from even visiting their facilities. Democrats offered a plan to keep workers paid and fund other operations at the Department of Homeland Security while negotiations continue, but Republicans are holding funding for our Coast Guard and TSA hostage as they put ICE’s reign of terror and fealty to Donald Trump ahead of the American people. We cannot approve another penny for Donald Trump and Kristi Noem’s secret police force. ICE needs to be torn down and replaced.”
This week, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) introduced a government funding bill that would fully fund every agency within the Department of Homeland Security, except for ICE and CBP.
Larsonis a cosponsor of the No Secret Police Act to require ICE agents to identify themselves, the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act to bar ICE raids in schools, hospitals, courthouses, places of worship, and social service agencies, and the DHS Use of Force Oversight Act to require agents to only use the force needed to carry out arrests and has vowed to introduce legislation to stop ICE from operating in communities without coordinating with state and local law enforcement.