Commentary by K.E. Bell

As the American Brownshirts stormed Minneapolis last week, seven House Democrats and all House Republicans except Thomas Massie of Kentucky sold out their cities and states by voting for a $64.4-billion Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending measure that includes about $10 billion for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

These are the Democratic representatives who saw the ongoing brutality in American cities and looked the other way with their votes:

• Henry Cuellar of Texas
• Don Davis of North Carolina
• Laura Gillen of New York
• Vicente Gonzalez of Texas
• Jared Golden of Maine
• Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington

•   Tom Suozzi of New York

Remember those names because every one of them should face primary challengers and none of them should be in office after their current terms are up. For that matter, every Republican House member except Massie should experience the same fate. The final vote was 220-207, so the Democrats would have won had their caucus held the line. 

ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) then killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday, pumping 10 shots into him as about a half dozen officers were wrestling him to the ground.

ICE and CPB are now terrorist organizations. If ICE wants its funding Democrats should have demanded numerous concessions, the most important of which is to follow the rule of law and the Constitution. Instead, ICE will continue to act above the law and regularly violate the First, Second, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

Before their capitulation, Democrats had sought to add several measures to the bill. They included:

• Requiring judicial warrants before agents could seize American citizens
• body-camera mandates
• limits on the use of force
• a ban on masks worn by officers during operations
• a prohibition from entering hospitals, churches, and schools
• barring the detention or deportation of U.S. citizens.

That’s a good start, but it’s not enough. This lawless ICE Gestapo should be defunded entirely and abolished. If it’s revived at all it should be replaced with new, better-trained hires who are vetted for extremist ties to the January 6th insurrection or organizations such as the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, and the KKK. Most importantly, they must operate within the law and normal policing practices. Remember, ICE didn’t exist before 2003.

Other measures should have included:

• A transparent investigation into the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in which the federal authorities share information and work in concert with Minnesota state authorities.
• Similar investigations into the more than 30 people who have died in ICE custody.
• A prohibition against ICE/CPB carrying firearms.
• A prohibition against deporting anyone following the rules of the immigration system and working toward legal standing.
• Mandatory inspections of ICE detainment facilities with strong repercussions for inhumane treatment of detainees.

•    Requiring that a high percentage of anyone deported (say 90%, but it should be       100%) are actual criminals with records of violence or fraud.

But with the killing of Pretti, Democratic senators might have to find their spines. This tragedy gives the Dems a chance to demand concessions once again because the funding measure has to earn 60 votes in the Senate to pass. Democrats must hold the line this time after seven Dems and one Independent sold out their constituents to end the longest government shutdown in US history.

Are they up to the fight this time? If they aren’t they’ll be complicit in the continued terrorization of American cities just a few short months after becoming complicit in jacking up healthcare costs for millions of Americans. 

The Democrats have precious little power because voters chose to give Republicans wins in the House, Senate, and presidency. But they can exercise what little power they have with votes on government spending.

These are not normal times. Almost all Republicans and too many Democrats seem to think it’s business as usual, though, and they need to go along to get along. We are under attack from a declining megalomaniac, his broligarch backers, and the Heritage Foundation pulling the strings of Project 2025. 

Democrats need to realize the danger and do everything they can to put it to a stop. Will a second killing in Minneapolis give them the steel join the fight?

Bell is contributing pundit writing for the left column of The Hustings.