Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) on Tuesday called out President Donald Trump’s administration for performatively using United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for arrests in his second term.
“Frankly, it is sad that we do have to go through this kind of political theater because, listen, we all know what it is — that’s why they hired everybody from Fox News because all they’re trying to do is put on for a show. This is not ‘The Apprentice’ show,” she told a GOP-led House judiciary subcommittee hearing.
“This is supposed to be about the American people, and I want us to start to refocus our attention on the American people and stop demonizing every doggone person that ends up in custody of ICE because they are not necessarily demons just because ICE decided to round them up.”
Crockett’s remarks bounced off those from Jason Houser, former ICE chief of staff under Joe Biden who was the Democrats’ witness at a hearing titled “Examining Threats to ICE Operations.”
The hearing focused on Democrats’ recent skirmish with federal agents outside New Jersey’s Delaney Hall — the largest immigration detention center on the East Coast and the site of several recent protests — which led to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s arrest and charges against Rep LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.).
Baraka and McIver were among Democrats visiting the facility as part of an unannounced oversight visit, which they have the right to do, before a scuffle among demonstrators led to the Newark mayor’s arrest and allegations that the congresswoman contributed to the tense scene.
Houser told Crockett that he oversaw “hundreds” of visits from members of Congress and immigration advocacy groups to facilities during his time with ICE.
“And in no way did I ever see the sort of situation that we saw in Delaney Hall, where there was a powder cake driven by political theater being driven by the White House,” he said.
Crockett then stressed that the situation at Delaney Hall was “not normal,” noting that video of McIver shows she was “very calmly” telling the press about the reason for the Democrats’ visit.
Elsewhere in the hearing, House slammed his old agency’s operations under Trump, noting that the administration expanded ICE’s enforcement in ways that aren’t just “overreaching” but are also “reckless” in targeting people “without criminal records, shutting down legal pathways and revoking protections.”
“Let me be clear, I support vigorous enforcement within ICE, however, strength comes from strategy, not rounding up the wrong people for the wrong reasons,” he said.
