Democrats Who Voted to Keep Funding ICE Scramble to Backtrack

Democrats that voted in favor of the Department of Homeland Security’s latest funding package were hit by a maelstrom of public fury over the weekend, forcing some lawmakers to do a complete 180 on their decisions—albeit too late.

Not even 48 hours after seven Democrats banded together to help pass DHS’s $64.4 billion funding bill, ICE agents killed another U.S. citizen in Minnesota: 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti. His death summoned mass outrage, partially directed at the liberals who afforded the violent agencies more dough.

In an email to his campaign list Monday, New York Representative Tom Suozzi said that he had underestimated the significance of his vote, claiming he did not realize that the funding vote would be interpreted as a “referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis.”

“I hear the anger from many of my constituents, and I take responsibility for that,” Suozzi wrote. “I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior and I must do a better job demonstrating that.

“The senseless and tragic murder of Alex Pretti underscores what happens when untrained federal agents operate without accountability,” he continued. “President Trump must immediately end ‘Operation Metro Surge’ and ICE’s occupation of Minneapolis that has sown chaos, led to tragedy, and undermined experienced local law enforcement.”

The other Democrats who voted in support of the bill were Representatives Henry Cuellar (Texas), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Laura Gillen (New York), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), Jared Golden (Maine), and Don Davis (North Carolina).

Ahead of the vote, Suozzi claimed that the bill—which would continue to fund ICE operations—was a better alternative than another government shutdown.

Some of the other lawmakers also called out ICE while trying to excuse their vote. In a video statement, Gonzalez said that the last week in Washington was one of the toughest of his career, and pledged to ask for a “thorough and independent investigation” into the myriad abuses perpetrated by ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents.

“Let me make it clear, was not to fund ICE,” Gonzalez said. “But what I was voting for was to ensure that our agencies here in south Texas were funded.”

Gillen was similarly moved by Pretti’s untimely death, though she did not retract her support for the bill. Posting on X, Gillen claimed that Pretti’s death “at the hands of ICE” warranted the immediate impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“Under her leadership, ICE has targeted U.S. citizens and children and killed Americans,” Gillen wrote. “She is not focused on safety or border security; she’s focused on chaos and self-promotion, undermining local law enforcement and stoking violence as a result. The American people deserve better.”