Congress will soon vote on a new spending package to fund the federal government through September.
Some Democrats say they won’t vote for the bill unless it includes major reforms to ICE or cuts funding from the agency.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin wouldn’t commit to voting “no,” despite calling ICE’s actions a “reign of terror.”
“It's tough in this regard," he said, "there are a lot of innocent people who are looking for funding for good programs that need to be continued. They are included in the same bill as the Department of Homeland Security. Let me tell you, what ICE has done in Illinois and Minnesota and other places is an outrage.”
Durbin said there’s not much Democrats can do to rein in the agency, since Republicans control Congress and the White House, but he thinks that public sentiment is shifting against ICE.
Durbin highlighted court records from ICE’s enforcement efforts in Chicago that of the over 600 people detained, just 16 had criminal histories. The Senator also called it “cowardly” for agents to wear masks.
