Democrat Says Her Party Needs To Secure Border But Still Axe ICE Funding

Democratic Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto called out her party on Thursday for traditionally being “weak on immigration,” but also pushed to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Cortez Masto, a moderate Democrat who has broken from her party in the past, said the Biden administration was “too afraid” to talk about securing the border — only then to propose lowering the funding allocated to protect it during an interview with The New York Times’ “The Daily” podcast (NYT) published Thursday. Her comments come as the Democratic-led shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) heads into its second week, leaving vital agencies such as the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) without funding.

“I think traditionally I have seen that the Democrats are weak on immigration,” the senator told the NYT’s Michael Barbaro during the podcast interview.

Barbaro asked Cortez Masto if she was “conceding” this point, to which she replied, “Yeah, absolutely.”

“e can do both: We can secure our borders. We can address the human trafficking, the drug trafficking and weapons trafficking that’s happening there,” Cortez Masto added. “We can work to secure it, fund it, and at the same time have an immigration process that treats people with respect — people who want to come to this country.”

“But I have seen Democrats shy away from that. They don’t talk about the balance between the two. I watched as the last administration was too afraid to talk about securing the border,” added, referring to the