Suozzi: ‘I failed’ when voting to pass DHS funding bill

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) on Monday said he regretted his vote last week for a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, amid intense backlash surrounding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

“I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” he said in a statement. “I hear the anger from my constituents, and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior and I must do a better job demonstrating that.”

Suozzi was one of seven Democrats who crossed party lines to join Republicans in narrowly passing the DHS funding bill in a 220-207 vote. The bill funded agencies including FEMA and the Coast Guard — and ICE, keeping it funded at $10 billion for the fiscal year.

Suozzi expressed his regret amid mounting tensions following federal immigration operations in Minnesota and the killing of a second U.S. citizen protester, 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, on Saturday.

“The senseless and tragic murder of Alex Pretti underscores what happens when untrained federal agents operate without accountability,” Suozzi said. “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.”

Before the weekend killing, the DHS funding was slated to be part of a six-bill package that seemed likely to pass in the Senate. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said over the weekend that Democrats would not help advance the current package if it included the DHS funding — significantly raising the risk of a partial government shutdown at the end of the week.

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.), another one of the seven House Democrats who voted for the DHS package, called for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s impeachment following Pretti’s killing.

“Another U.S. citizen has been killed at the hands of ICE and there must be accountability, which is why Secretary Noem must be impeached immediately,” Gillen said in a statement Sunday. “Under her leadership, ICE has targeted U.S. citizens and children and killed Americans.”

But Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), another member of the group of breakaway House Democrats, defended his vote in a video message Monday, calling the footage out of Minnesota “appalling” but defending voting for the DHS funding.

“ICE has all the resources they need that they got from that big ugly bill Republicans passed last year, that I voted against,” he said, adding he voted for funding for agencies like FEMA and the TSA.