Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Saturday on Newsmax that Democrats threatening to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security are "taking the wrong hostage," casting the dispute as an attempt to blunt immigration enforcement that would instead needlessly ripple across other DHS agencies.
Cornyn argued on "America Right Now" that the funding fight is misdirected.
Addressing a question about whether the funding standoff is aimed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement while sweeping in other DHS missions, Cornyn said Democrats have "certainly taken the wrong hostage," adding, "yes, I think this is the party of defund police, abolish ICE, and they don't want us enforcing immigration laws."
Host Tom Basile cited remarks attributed to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, noting that ICE only accounts for about 11% of the department’s budget.
Cornyn responded that Republicans ran and won on border enforcement, saying, "President Trump and Republicans won the election last November based on our commitment to secure the border and enforce the law," adding, "President Trump has done exactly what he said he would do and what the voters called for."
Cornyn said the Democrat pressure tactic would not achieve what its backers want.
After Basile asked whether the dispute is effectively an effort to cut ICE, Cornyn said, "This hostage they've taken is not going to do anything to defund ICE," and pointed to other GOP-backed funding decisions: "We've actually included DHS in the Working Family Tax Cuts Act, we provided additional funds for DHS and ICE."
He said the consequences would fall on others within the department. After Basile listed other DHS components affected by a shutdown or lapse in appropriations, Cornyn said, "What it does, as you point out, it affects other agencies, like the Transportation Security Agency that provides security at airports, the Federal Emergency Management Agency that helps states and localities deal with emergencies."
"They've taken the wrong hostage," he said, and added, "I think this is going to prove to be a bad mistake."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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