Sen. Dave McCormick voted to advance the bill for funding Homeland Security which does not include reforms for ICE, even after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. In an email response to me, he defended ICE by stating “assaults on ICE officers have increased by 1,347 percent, and reported death threats have risen by more than 8,000 percent compared to this time last year.” He did not provide a citation for these statistics. In a subsequent email, he wrote, “I support President Trump’s efforts to restore order at the southern border, uphold the rule of law, and protect American communities. This includes detaining and removing inadmissible individuals who pose a threat to public safety and national security. ”
Most Americans agree with protecting the southern border and deporting criminals. Minnesota, a blue state, is not on the southern border. McCormick claims that ICE’s job is to remove “inadmissible individuals,” yet legal residents and American citizens have been arrested. Recently in Pittsburgh, Jose Flores was arrested by ICE. Flores has a work visa and has no criminal background (“ICE operation in Oakmont leads to local father’s arrest,” Jan. 30, TribLive).
Despite his claim that he expects ICE to uphold the rule of law, allowing warrantless arrests, attacking protesters and arresting American citizens and killing American citizens is unconstitutional.
If McCormick wants to make America great again, he should honor his oath to the Constitution.
Marjorie Mills
McCandless