Recent unrest and confrontations with immigration enforcement in Los Angeles have provided Republican leaders with a new argument to sway undecided members to support the "One Big Beautiful Bill." House Speaker Mike Johnson highlighted images of these clashes during his weekly press conference, including one of a demonstrator atop a burnt car waving a Guatemalan flag. Johnson criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom, stating that federal law enforcement officers deserved support.
The legislation, currently under consideration by Senate Republicans, allocates funds to hire over 10,000 agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and 3,000 Border Patrol agents, part of United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington emphasized the urgency of the bill's passage, citing the demonstrations that followed ICE raids in Los Angeles. He stated the need to support law enforcement and defend them against "radical leftist rioters."
Senate Republicans intend to pass the bill through reconciliation, which would allow them to bypass a filibuster, as the bill also includes an extension of the 2017 tax cuts, increased military spending, and expanded oil drilling. Some Republicans, like Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, are pushing for additional measures to reduce the deficit.
The bill's passage is supported by some, including Senator Josh Hawley, who believes the demonstrations underscore the importance of provisions for the border wall, ICE, and detention facilities. In response to the pushback against the ICE raids, the former president deployed the U.S. National Guard and 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, drawing criticism from Governor Newsom and others.
Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, criticized the deployment, accusing the former president of attempting to provoke a confrontation to distract from a lack of a positive policy agenda. However, Senator Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, accused Democrats of hypocrisy.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, the former president focused on mass deportations of immigrants in the country illegally. He appointed Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, as his deputy chief of staff and brought back Tom Homan, former acting director for ICE, as his "border czar." Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma stated that immigration was a primary reason for Republicans to support the bill, which would increase the number of ICE agents and provide them with more support.
0 Comments