Dems’ DHS shutdown killed the ICE oversight they wanted
Democrats have, through their impossible-to-meet demands of Republicans in Congress to subject federal law enforcement to the whims of local judges through warrants for illegal aliens, have succeeded in shutting down audits and inspections that had been intended to review actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
That, of course, is what the Democrats say they have been wanting.
It is an internal watchdog for the Department of Homeland Security that “has been forced to pause a significant chunk of its oversight of immigration enforcement” as Democrats have refused to cooperate with majority Republicans who have proposed funding the DHS.
Those government services now are at a standstill because of the Democrats’ refusal to vote for any funding.
A report at Fox News explains that means audits and inspections that had been planned, including those dealing with ICE, are paused.
“Most of OIG’s audits, inspections, and similar reviews… are paused during the lapse in appropriations. A small number of OIG audits related to disaster relief continue because they are supported by an extant appropriation,” a government official confirmed to Fox.
“OIG’s Criminal Investigators are excepted from furlough and are continuing their work during the lapse. OIG does not publicly confirm or deny the existence of any particular criminal investigation.”
Investigations that the Democrats now have subverted include those “whether ICE investigates allegations of use of excessive force and holds personnel accountable” as well as those reviewing “unannounced inspections to assess compliance with ICE detention standards and ensure safe, secure, and humane conditions of confinement.”
Democrats have demanded action against ICE, up to and including the closure of the entire agency, because of President Donald Trump’s surge in law enforcement to make sure people follow the nation’s border and immigration laws.
It came to a head in recent weeks in Minnesota where thousands were arrested for violations. That conflict saw two anti-ICE agitators shot and killed by law enforcement after they allegedly interfered with officers and their duties.
The situation was aggravated because much of the enforcement was among that state’s Somali-immigrant community, which also was being investigated on charges there were billions of dollars in fraud among social service programs serving that community.
The report confirmed “at least seven” investigations into ICE conduct have been suspended.
“An investigation into whether Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents are conducting domestic U.S. operations in accordance with DHS policies and federal law has also been halted,” the report said.
The U.S. Housed passed a DHS funding bill but in the Senate, Democrats had a long list of new demands, including training requirements, a mandate for body cameras, and that demand for local judges to provide warrants for arrests.
Democrats also demanded that federal agents, who have been subjected to brutal assaults, online attacks, threats against their families and more, be denied the opportunity for anonymity by wearing masks.