California Democrats are calling for a government shutdown over the ICE shooting

from Maya S. MillerCalMatters

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California legislative Democrats are urging their colleagues in Congress to shut down the federal government and block further funding for immigration enforcement agencies after agents shot and killed another civilian in Minnesota over the weekend.

At least 50 Democratic senators and members of the House – more than half the party’s caucus – on Monday condemned the killing of Alex Pretty, a Minneapolis resident and Veterans Affairs ICU nurse who was shot by federal immigration agents on Saturday.

Lawmakers announced their solidarity with Minnesota and other cities and states that have been targeted by federal law enforcement agents. They railed against what they called the Trump administration’s militarization of American cities, while some wiped away tears.

The previous bipartisan spending package, which would fund the departments of defense, labor, health and human services and homeland security, awaits a vote in the US Senate, where a growing number Democrats have vowed to repeal it.

But California lawmakers warned that Senate Democrats, many of whom represent battleground states, could back down and give Republicans the votes they need to push the measure onto President Donald Trump’s desk.

“This message is for Senator Chuck Schumer,” said Assemblywoman Liz Ortegaa Democrat from Hayward. “Do your job. Stand for something. Don’t quit again.”

The chairman of the meeting, Robert RivasSalinas Democrat, called on Schumer to “step down” if he can’t keep his faction in line.

Rivas and his colleagues also had a message for Republican lawmakers.

“We need you to speak up. You can’t watch these videos coming out of Minneapolis, Minnesota and think that’s acceptable,” Rivas said. “We need your vote, we need your solidarity and defense of American values.”

In relation to the fact that Preeti was apparently carrying a permitted weapon, Assemblyman Mark Gonzalez cited from Los Angeles a 2018 tweet from the late Charlie Kirkwho states that the Second Amendment is not for hunting or self-defense, but “to ensure that free men can defend themselves if, God forbid, the government becomes tyrannical and turns against its citizens.”

“What do you call a masked agent who kills people on the street? What do you call children taken from families?” Gonzalez said.

He noted that the National Rifle Association condemned the premature conclusions of the shooting as “dangerous and wrong.”

“Even the NRA is calling out the dangerous ignorance of federal officials trying to excuse the killing of Alex Pretty,” Gonzalez said. “When even staunch defenders of the Second Amendment recognize the need for accountability, we must listen.”

So far, California Republicans have directed their criticism mainly at Democrats. The Republican leadership of the Legislature deferred to other members of their caucus when asked for comment.

Senator Tony StricklandRepublican from Huntington Beach, said Democratic officials have created risky and dangerous conditions for both agents and civilian observers by so-called “sanctuary” policies. which restrict local and state law enforcement from working with federal immigration agents. They argue that these policies create risky situations where civilians like Pretti feel they need to monitor and track officers.

“Stop the rhetoric that ICE agents are the Gestapo, that they are the secret police, that they are Nazis,” said Assemblyman James Gallagher of Chico, a former Republican Assembly leader who recently announced his candidacy for the special election to fill out the final months of the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa in Congress. “This type of rhetoric helps contribute to the chaotic environment in places like Minnesota.”

Gallagher called Pretty’s death “a terrible thing” and called for an independent investigation and accountability.

The legislation calls for greater oversight of ICE

Some lawmakers have pledged to introduce new measures to limit the power of federal agents.

“It’s certainly a frustrating situation because a lot of the power and authority here is in the hands of the federal government in Washington, D.C., but that doesn’t mean the answer for us is to do nothing,” said Assemblyman Jesse GabrielDemocrat from Encino.

Gabriel plans to introduce a bill that would require California’s attorney general to conduct an independent investigation into every shooting by federal immigration officials in the state, a follow-up to existing law it already requires similar shooting investigations by local and state law enforcement agencies. He will also co-author a bill with Deputy Juan Carrillo which would prohibit federal immigration agencies from using state resources to facilitate their operations, such as state-owned equipment and personnel.

“We have to use every tool that we have, every legal opportunity that we have, to use our power, our authority to think about all the different ways we can push back,” Gabriel said.

Also on the voting deck in the California Senate this week Senate Bill 747 co-authored with Sen. Aisha Wahab of Hayward and Senator Scott Wienera Democrat from San Francisco who is running to replace Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in Congress, which will allow Californians to sued federal agents for civil rights violations. The bill builds on last year’s Wiener measure, which barred federal immigration officials from wearing maskswhich Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law.

Wiener argues that the issue should not be biased.

“It’s really about everyone’s rights under any federal administration,” Wiener told CalMatters on Monday. “Local and state law enforcement are already subject to civil liability if they violate someone’s rights, and federal agents really aren’t,” he said.

“It’s just trying to apply the same standards to all law enforcement agencies.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.