The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) slammed Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-CA) on Tuesday after she falsely accused the agency of being “anti-immigrant.”
During a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing on Central American migration and border security, Barragan went on a rant accusing ICE of having an “anti-immigrant” agenda.
“Now we love to talk about this issue about the MS-13 gangs, we love to paint immigrants as criminals,” Barragan said. “That is not the complete facts and that is very offensive for me to see continuing to happen, is continuing to message this is anti-immigrant agenda.”
“There are many of lots of good immigrants, and then I hear this rhetoric ‘more DACA like people,’ guess what,” Barragan arrogantly exclaimed. “DACA like people are the people we need in this country, they serve this country, they’ve gone to college, they produce and they contribute to the economy so to put them into the same category is completely offensive.”
After continuing for another two minutes and then engaging with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Deputy Commissioner Ronald Vitiello, Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan stepped in and responded to Barragan.
“First of all, no one on this panel is anti-immigrant, we are law enforcement officers that are enforcing the law that you all enacted, so to sit there and say we are anti-immigrant is just wrong,” Homan responded. “We are just enforcing the laws, if you think it’s okay to for them to enter this country and they shouldn’t be arrested that’s just wrong.”
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