In a stunning admission on CNN International, freshman Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) made clear she’s willing to shut down the federal government unless her party defunds Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Her reasoning? She labels ICE a "rogue agency" aligned with what she called Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s “racist mass deportation policy.”
According to Ansari, ICE enforcement is no longer about upholding federal law — it’s about promoting racism. That’s her claim. And for that reason, she’s demanding Congress strip ICE of its funding.
“Unless they’re going to take away funding from ICE, which they quadrupled in the last budget, then I do not intend to vote for this budget," she said.
Her comments are a direct threat to national security, public safety, and the rule of law. In a time when border crossings are surging and fentanyl is flooding American communities, the Democratic response — at least from Rep. Ansari — is to gut immigration enforcement and hold the entire federal budget hostage unless her fringe demands are met.
When asked about the possibility of a shutdown, Ansari deflected blame entirely, saying the GOP “has control of all three branches.” This is false on its face — Democrats still hold significant sway in Congress, and no budget passes without bipartisan support. Yet her response signals an unwillingness to engage seriously with the budget process, choosing instead to use immigration as a wedge issue, even if it means grinding the government to a halt.
Ansari also expressed outrage at a recent Supreme Court ruling that reaffirmed ICE’s authority to enforce immigration laws. In her eyes, that decision was not a legal affirmation of federal jurisdiction, but rather an endorsement of “racist” policies. She pointed specifically to enforcement operations beginning in Los Angeles and suggested her own district in Phoenix is now in the crosshairs.
The rhetoric is extreme, the logic flawed, and the threat real. A sitting member of Congress is demanding that immigration law enforcement be defunded — not reformed, not reviewed, but defunded — or she’ll vote to shut down the entire federal government. That’s not governance. That’s extortion by ideology.
ICE exists to enforce the law. If Ansari and her allies have a problem with immigration law, they’re free to draft legislation and build consensus to change it. What they shouldn’t do is threaten the paychecks of federal workers, delay services for veterans and families, and undermine national security to score political points with the radical wing of their base.
Editor’s Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
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