At a Morrisville town hall event on Thursday evening, U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee said it’s time to defund ICE.
“The lawlessness and disregard for democracy can best be seen through this administration’s sickening response to ICE’s killing of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti,” the Chapel Hill Democrat said in her opening statement. “And demanding even more money for this dangerous and rogue agency that puts every single one of us at risk.”
Good was shot by an officer of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that has been the focus of many Democratic complaints. But Pretti was shot by agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Later, in response to a question about stopping ICE, Foushee told the audience of about 35 people that she voted against a bill that would increase funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes both agencies. (The bill passed the House, but spending for DHS is still being debated in the Senate.)
Foushee said “it is Congress’s responsibility to rein in this administration” and reform ICE. She said immigration agents often fail to obtain warrants and they wear masks to hide their identity. They should “behave like local law enforcement” and stop hiding their faces.
Foushee, now seeking her third term representing North Carolina’s Fourth District in Congress, is being challenged by Nida Allam, a Democratic member of the Durham County Board of Commissioners. Because the district is heavily Democratic, the winner of the primary is likely to win the seat in the November general election.
On Thursday, Foushee also accused President Trump of “empower[ing] ICE to systematically target Black, brown and immigrant communities.” The congresswoman said the administration initially claimed that ICE was going to target undocumented immigrants who had committed crimes, but that “obviously… is not what is happening.”
Foushee said she has joined Democratic colleagues in their effort to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“I will keep standing up to remove Donald Trump and Kristi Noem from office, [and] stop ICE from terrorizing our communities,” she told the crowd.
Photo at top: Rep. Valerie Foushee speaks at the town hall meeting in Morrisville. She was joined by Wake County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings (left) and Morrisville Mayor T.J. Cawley. Photo by Paige Stevens – The 9th Street Journal
Paige Stevens
