Should the House Express Support For ICE Personnel? (H. Res. 990)

What is H. Res. 990?

(Updated May 3, 2019)

This resolution would express the House’s support for the officers and personnel of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and denounce calls to abolish the agency as “an insult to these heroic law enforcement officers” who sacrifice every day to secure the border and protect public safety. It notes that ICE arrested 127,000 unauthorized immigrants with criminal convictions or charges in FY2017 who were responsible for 76,000 dangerous drug offenses; 48,000 assault charges; 11,000 weapon offenses; 5,000 sexual assault offenses; and 1,800 homicide offenses. Further, it notes that ICE seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY18, including a combined 9,337 pounds of fentanyl and heroin. Finally, it expresses that abolishing ICE would allow those criminals and drugs to remain in the U.S.

As a simple resolution, this legislation is non-binding and wouldn’t advance beyond the House if passed.

Argument in favor

ICE officers and personnel put their lives on the line each day to apprehend criminal unauthorized immigrants and stop the flow of illegal drugs across the border. This resolution is right to express support for them, and to push back on calls to abolish ICE.

Argument opposed

ICE has been carrying out the administration’s policy of separating unauthorized immigrant children and should be abolished. Alternatively, ICE is imperfect but should kept and this resolution is nothing more than political posturing.

Impact

ICE personnel and the agency as a whole; and the House.

Cost of H. Res. 990

As a non-binding resolution, this bill would have no cost.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) introduced this resolution to express support for ICE personnel and condemn calls by Democrats to abolish the agency:

“Some Democrats have launched an assault against ICE and other law enforcement agents who secure our borders. Their calls to abolish ICE are reckless and put our national security interests at risk. Americans support law and order and sovereign borders. ICE plays a crucial role for our nation’s security and their service should be respected. Hopefully, this resolution will remind some of my colleagues across the aisle that we have been elected to serve American citizens, not foreign citizens, and certainly not illegal immigrants.”

Higgins introduced this resolution in response to a bill to abolish ICE introduced by Democrats including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who stated:

“There was enforcement of our immigration laws before ICE was created and there will be after ICE, as an agency, is gone. As it stands, ICE is out of control - contracting much of its work out to private, for-profit contractors that cost the taxpayers far more than is necessary, failing to even identify and address deficiencies in their system and allowing deaths due to substandard in their custody, as numerous Inspector General reports have found. The agency is simply unable to do the work that is most necessary for national security, instead taking away necessary resources from functions that are critical to protect our national security, including investigating terrorism, drug smuggling, and trade fraud. We should eliminate the agency as it stands and start from scratch to restructure its functions.”

This legislation has the support of 64 cosponsors, all of whom are Republicans.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) Press Release
  
• The Hill
  
• Roll Call
  
• Vox
  
• NumbersUSA (In Favor)