Colorado Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet said Tuesday that they wanted several reforms to federal immigration authorities’ practices ahead of a U.S. Senate funding showdown as the backlash to a fatal shooting in Minneapolis intensifies.
Hickenlooper said he hoped Republicans would agree to the reforms, which include prohibiting federal agents from wearing masks or making arrests without warrants, as part of a potential deal to avert a partial government shutdown. The proposals match what other Senate Democrats have floated in the wake of the Saturday killing of observer Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by a Border Patrol officer and a Customs and Border Protection officer.
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, left, speaks at a news conference about the need for Congress to take action to support communities that receive migrants, on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, at the U.S. Capitol as Sen. Michael Bennet listens, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)Pretti’s death prompted Democrats to pull back support for the package of funding bills set for a vote this week ahead of a Friday deadline, but Republicans embracing the reforms could help win sufficient Democratic backing to clear procedural hurdles.
“In the absence of (real reform), the Senate must reject this appropriations bill,” Bennet said during a media call with Hickenlooper and the state’s four Democratic House members. Both senators had already said they wouldn’t vote for more funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The lawmakers were all critical of ICE, which has been aided in Minneapolis by other agencies. U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, who said Pretti’s parents — Arvada residents — were her constituents, called for the resignation or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver called ICE a “rogue agency” that should be dismantled. (None of the lawmakers called for the abolition of ICE.)
Hickenlooper was optimistic that 15 to 20 Republican senators would support an amendment that included the ICE reforms, which he called “a remarkable opportunity to de-escalate.”
Bennet, whose office recently announced new legislation that would require similar reforms for federal agents, was less hopeful that enough Republicans would support the proposals.
“We’re going to try to do it this week, and we’ll see,” he said. “I’ll make an evaluation by the end of the week, but I have not seen (Republicans) willing to stand up to Donald Trump’s lawlessness yet, and I don’t expect that they will.”
Even if the reforms were to pass, Denver immigration attorney Hans Meyer questioned whether ICE would follow new regulations. The agency has been repeatedly sued — including in Colorado — for sidestepping federal laws related to indefinite detentions and warrantless arrests.
Judges, in Colorado and across the country, have repeatedly ordered ICE to provide detainees with bail hearings and to ensure agents have probable cause before making arrests.
“You can’t reform a gang of executioners and jackboots,” Meyer said.
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In Minnesota, a federal judge grew so exasperated with the agency’s refusal to follow court directives that he ordered Todd Lyons, ICE’s acting director, to personally appear in court later this week.
“Will ICE abide by these new criteria?” Hickenlooper said. “Well, they can’t say they don’t have enough money.” The agency received tens of billions of dollars in new funding last year through the Republican tax-and-spending bill signed by President Donald Trump.
“This isn’t (asking) a lot,” Hickenlooper said of the reforms, “and if the Republican senators come on board, which I think they will, then it’s going to be us having people looking over the shoulder, around the corner, watching everything that ICE does — and prosecuting them when they break the law.”
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