TRANSCRIPT: Leader Schumer, Leader Jeffries, And Democratic Leadership Call For Oversight And Accountability To End The Violence And Rein In ICE

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Democratic leaders held a press conference on Democratic unity and demands to reform ICE. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Leader Schumer: [Leader Jeffries, Senate and House Leadership, and I] had a really good and productive meeting. And we're on the same page. First, what is happening in our cities is—just turns your stomach inside out. It's not just us. When Americans see the pictures of these goons beating people, pushing people, and even shooting and killing people, they say, “this is not America.” And what the hell is going on in our cities? It is reminiscent of dictatorship. And when some of these ICE thugs just keep beating and beating and beating a woman who's pushed to the floor, that's un-American. And the American people are on our side. Ninety percent have seen the videos, according to a most recent survey. And they are appalled. And they are urging the Senate and the House, the Congress, and the White House to stop this.

And so, Democrats, we have commonsense, tough objectives to rein in ICE. And the Republicans need to get serious. Three broad categories we all agree on. One, none of these roving patrols. You can't just stop anybody on the street. You can't just pick them up and not even tell them why they're picked up, put them in some dark place. No access to a lawyer or a phone or anything else. You can't, there are certain places they shouldn't be able to go in, churches, synagogues, schools, election places. There should be no racial profiling as these bands of goons roam the streets. That's one.

Two, we need real accountability. There's got to be oversight. There's got to be outside independent oversight by state and local governments, by individuals. And there's got to be a right to sue. There's got to be a right to go to court and stop this.

And finally, no secret police. I find it amazing that the Speaker of the House, saying there shouldn't be, they should be allowed to have masks. This group, which needs to be identified more than any other group, should have a standard much more lenient and hidden than other police forces. I would bet when Speaker Johnson goes down to Louisiana, the sheriffs and the police deputies are well identified, as they are in almost every city. So, we need cameras. And the cameras have got to be used in the right way. We can't just give them cameras. And [we] have to be specific as to how they ought to be used. They need identification and no masks, except in extraordinary and unusual circumstances.

We're united with the American people. We're united as House and Senate Democrats. We're going to have tough, strong legislation. We hope to have it within the next 24 hours that we will submit together. And then we want our Republican colleagues to finally get serious about this, because this is turning America inside out in a way we haven't seen in a very long time.

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Reporter: Can I just get a level set here before we start these negotiations from Senator Schumer on why Leader Jeffries wasn’t originally included in these negotiations and if you’re committed now to moving forward, being at the table together?

Leader Jeffries: The House and Senate are completely and totally on the same page in terms of demands as we've outlined. Leader Schumer and I had a close, positive conversation yesterday about the path forward. We've remained in close contact over the last several days, as we will continue to do. And what you see here is a representation of the entirety of the House Democratic caucus and the Senate Democratic caucus, united and reining in an agency, ICE, that's out of control, and a Trump administration that is actually unleashing state-sponsored violence on the American people and on law-abiding immigrant families. That's completely and totally unacceptable, it's unconscionable, and it's un-American. And so Democrats are united in pushing back in the ways that have been articulated.

Reporter: What is the next steps? Are you going to have meetings scheduled with the White House? Who are you negotiating with? We talked to Thune, he said you’re talking to Trump, other people say you’re going to talk to Thune—

Jeffries: Let me yield to Senator Schumer.

Schumer: Look, the bottom line is we're ready to sit down and negotiate, but it's got to be strong, it's got to be tough, it's got to rein in ICE in very serious ways and end the violence. And we hope our Republican colleagues will meet us on that. We haven't, you know, Leader Thune designated the Senator from Alabama, but she's got to represent the Republican caucus. And we need the White House on board, we need the Senate Republicans, we need the House Republicans on board. And if they're not serious and they don't put in real reform, they shouldn't expect our votes, plain and simple.

Reporter: The Speaker has already rejected two of your demands, judicial warrants and removing face masks. So if that’s still his position, will you vote to shut the government down? Shut Homeland Security down if he sticks to that position?

Jeffries: Mike Johnson and John Thune rejected the notion that the six appropriations bills should be divided. They rejected that notion. And I'm thankful for what Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats did, which is to draw a line in the sand and say, no, it's not going to go down that way. And that's why we're at this moment. So understand something. We get it over in the House. Mike Johnson and John Thune aren't working for the American people. They work for Donald Trump. And so many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, they function like a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump cartel. So at the end of the day, listen, Trump understands that the public is not with the administration's cruel and chaotic policies here and that we actually need to restore law and order as it relates to how we proceed. And we're ready to proceed in good faith to sit down. Mike Johnson has articulated unreasonable positions. He's actually supporting the notion that mass and lawless ICE agents should be deployed in communities throughout America. That's Mike Johnson's position. That's contrary to what the American people believe should be taking place. Mike Johnson called the Fourth Amendment an inconvenience. It's not an inconvenience. It's part of the fabric and DNA of our country, just like the First Amendment. Yes, even the Second Amendment, the Tenth Amendment, the Fourth Amendment. We're standing up for all of these constitutional privileges that have been part of who we are since the very beginning as we celebrate our 250th birthday. Chuck.

Schumer: I'm just going to say we're sending them a proposal and we await their response. But I think the American people are going to be amazed that the Speaker says that these secret police should continue to rove around in our cities unchecked.

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