Empowered congressional Democrats gear up for battles over immigration and ICE oversight
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asserted
Democrats → gear → immigration
- With Democrats set to control both chambers of Congress, lawmakers plan investigations into immigration enforcement and alleged abuses by the Department of Homeland Security.
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asserted
lawmakers → set → Security
Their ability to change policy will face challenges: Major legislation would need Republican support and probably President Trump’s approval, though they could pass some changes through the budget process.
uncertain
they → change → process
- The administration has signaled deportations will continue, and operators of detention centers are urging ICE to expand capacity before the power shift.
asserted
operators → signal → shift
As it became clear on election day that Republicans would lose the House of Representatives, House Homeland Security Committee Democrats posted a three-word message on social media to Markwayne Mullin, who leads the agency: “clear your calendar.”
asserted
who → become → calendar
The next day, Mullin posted a three-word message of his own: “Deportations will continue.”
asserted
Deportations → post → own
After affordability and the Iran war, immigration was a defining issue in the midterm elections, and now that Democrats won majorities in the House and Senate, they plan to increase agency oversight and attempt to rein in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies.
asserted
they → define → policies
Congressional Democrats vowed to put the Trump administration on the defensive with subpoenas and hearings, but said their priority is to make life more affordable.
asserted
life → vow → subpoenas
Come January, Democrats will control every House seat along the U.S.-Mexico border.
asserted
Democrats → control → border
But while they will have wider leeway to investigate alleged wrongdoings of the last two years, how much they can advance their immigration agenda will likely depend on how much Republicans will collaborate with them.
asserted
Republicans → have → them
Any advances would also require the approval of President Trump, who on Friday appointed Stephen Miller, the architect of many of his administration’s most stringent immigration policies, as his new chief of staff.
asserted
who → require → staff
Democrats have already started outlining their goals for next year and preparing to staff up.
asserted
Democrats → start → year
Job listings posted last week seek investigators, lawyers and law clerks whose duties would include immigration.
asserted
duties → post → immigration
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), who is poised to lead the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said one of his major focus areas would be the Department of Homeland Security and abuses by immigration agents.
asserted
one → poise → agents
Garcia specifically named former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her advisor Corey Lewandowski, saying they would face accountability and justice.
asserted
they → name → accountability
“When people are being kidnapped and detained, thrown to the ground, arms broken, people snatched up on their way to immigration appointments that we the government gave them, that’s inhumane, it’s wrong, and I think the American public — regardless of party — are sick of it,” Garcia said Wednesday at a news conference in Huntington Beach.
asserted
Garcia → kidnap → Beach
Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to Mullin the same day demanding that his department preserve all documents, including emails and contracts, and prepare to hand them over.
asserted
department → send → them
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the investigations subcommittee of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, made a similar request.
asserted
Blumenthal → make → request
Blumenthal said he has written Homeland Security leaders more than a dozen times and received no records.
asserted
he → say → records
But that was when Republicans controlled the subcommittee.
asserted
Republicans → control → subcommittee
Last week, he wrote, “Please also note that failure to voluntarily produce the requested records and information by January 4, 2027, will leave the Subcommittee with no choice but to consider alternative measures to obtain compliance.”
asserted
failure → write → compliance
President Trump on Friday announced his appointment of Stephen Miller as his chief of staff to replace Susie Wiles.
asserted
Trump → announce → Wiles
Republicans, too, have begun preparing for the coming power shift.
asserted
Republicans → begin → shift
House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) told GOP committee chairs to identify possible targets of Democratic scrutiny and to consider how recent Supreme Court decisions will factor into oversight moving forward.
asserted
decisions → tell → oversight
“They will use their oversight authorities to harass the President, his family, cabinet officials, and they will seek to destroy our allies,” Scalise said in a letter Thursday.
asserted
Scalise → use → letter
“You will all be a key line of defense in this fight, and we must maximize our remaining days in power to prepare for what is coming.”
asserted
what → maximize → power
Planning by companies that operate immigrant detention facilities for Immigration and Customs Enforcement is already factoring in Democratic control of Congress.
asserted
that → operate → Congress
During a call with investors on Thursday, Lucibeth Mayberry, the chief executive of CoreCivic, was asked whether election results will affect future sales of privately run detention facilities to Homeland Security.
asserted
results → ask → Security
“We would urge the ICE administration to move quickly,” she said, adding that “there’s no reason to wait.”
asserted
she → urge → administration
The GEO Group, a Florida-based private prison corporation, announced Monday that it had sold the detention facilities, including the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, totaling 2,644 Beds.
asserted
it → base → Beds
Asked if the election results would affect ICE activity, Mayberry did not anticipate any immediate change, noting that ICE has already increased enforcement and expanded the number of detainees, currently around 69,000.
asserted
ICE → ask → 69,000
While immigration enforcement is unlikely to change, the administration signaled an openness to modifying some tactics.
asserted
administration → change → tactics
In a statement on social media the day after the election, Vice President JD Vance said he’s “open to the idea that we should change enforcement — by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance.”
asserted
that → say → instance
Trump, speaking to reporters Friday in Florida, said that immigration is one Democratic-led initiative he could get behind.
uncertain
he → speak → Florida
But in tapping Miller as his chief of staff, Trump signals a desire to continue the aggressive tactics of the last two years, said Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).
asserted
Padilla → tap → years
“Voters demand lower costs, an end to the chaos, and a government that works for them,” he wrote in a statement Friday.
asserted
he → demand → statement
“I know Trump heard them, but sadly and predictably, he’s choosing to double down, handing the keys of the West Wing to the man most responsible for this Administration’s failures and most harmful policies.
asserted
he → know → failures
A majority of voters support a path to citizenship for longtime immigrants, banning immigration agents from wearing masks, mandating use of body cameras and limiting use of force, according to a poll by the Los Angeles-based analytics firm BSP Research of more than 10,000 midterm voters.
uncertain
majority → support → voters
Most poll respondents also support redirecting billions of dollars appropriated by Congress for immigration enforcement to other government programs.
asserted
respondents → support → programs
Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement, acknowledged Trump may not sign a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
uncertain
Trump → acknowledge → bill
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
