Florida GOP Rep. Greg Steube said Democrats are "holding hostage the American people" by tying government funding to what he repeatedly called "ridiculous reforms" that are "complete nonstarters."
Appearing Tuesday on Newsmax's "National Report," Steube warned that a shutdown would immediately affect front-line agencies, stressing that "strong and courageous law enforcement officers" would soon go unpaid.
"Who suffers is the American people," Steube said.
"And then these strong and courageous law enforcement officers in our Coast Guard officers that in a week or so aren't going to get paid. TSA is going to start not getting paid," he added.
Steube argued the standoff centers on Democrats pushing new restrictions on immigration enforcement, claiming they have "latched on to ICE" because "they don't think that immigrants, illegal immigrants, gang members, rapists, and murderers should be deported from our country."
"They're going after our ICE agents who are courageously doing the great work of the American people," he said, accusing Democrats of using immigration enforcement as "a bargaining chip to shut down the government."
Steube specifically rejected Democrat demands for judicial warrants in deportation cases, calling it unnecessary because ICE already operates under "an administrative warrant called a detainer."
"You don't need a judicial warrant," he said. "That's not how the federal law works. It's not how the federal law has worked for decades."
He added that most migrants claiming asylum are ultimately denied, saying, "Ninety-six percent of them get denied asylum because they're just trying to get into the country illegally."
Steube also opposed Democrat proposals requiring ICE agents to display name badges, arguing it would endanger officers by enabling doxing.
"I would not support that," he said. "They're simply putting that there so that these officers can then be doxed."
Steube accused Democrats of hypocrisy on identification requirements, saying, "They want ICE agents to have their ID, but they don't want voters who vote in our nation's elections to have ID.
"The hypocrisy is beyond the pale."
While dismissing most Democrat requests as unacceptable, Steube said one measure could earn Republican support.
"The only thing of the 10 requests that I could support are body cameras," he said, noting that "most law enforcement officers will tell you that they're great for them because you're actually seeing what actually occurred."
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