Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer defended Democrats’ decision on Tuesday evening to remain seated after President Trump asked them to stand up in support of protecting American citizens from illegal aliens during his State of the Union Address.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday morning, the New York Democrat shockingly claimed that federal immigration authorities were operating outside of the law rather than defending their jobs, while also appearing to defer to individuals in the country illegally.
“We agree we need to protect Americans. He’s not. By his reckless ICE agency in Minnesota two Americans were killed. Americans are being pulled out of their cars and beaten. Americans houses, the doors are being knocked down, you know, without a warrant,” Schumer claimed.
“And no other police department in America run by Americans has — has done what ICE has done. So yes, we want to protect Americans. He’s not doing it. And that’s why the American people are against what ICE is doing. So it was legitimate and right not to stand,” he added.
ICE operations are being carried out in accordance with federal law and Department of Homeland Security guidelines, according to multiple officials within the Trump administration.
In addition, ICE and Border Patrol agents have been concentrating on illegal aliens with criminal records, including child-related sex crimes, assaults, and murder.
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Meanwhile, Schumer called on Trump Tuesday ahead of the State of the Union to clarify his objectives regarding the increasing pressure campaign and military buildup aimed at Iran.
The request followed a classified briefing earlier in the day for senior congressional leaders, during which Cabinet officials provided updates on the developing situation in Iran.
Other lawmakers also expressed serious concerns in response to the briefing.
“It’s very serious and the president has an obligation to make his goals public,” Schumer told Jewish Insider after the briefing.
In addition, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, similarly called on the administration to lay out “what our country’s goals are, what our country’s interests are and how we’re going to protect American interests in the region.”
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told the outlet he was “very concerned” and warned that “wars in the Middle East don’t go well for presidents, for the country, and we have not heard articulated a single good reason for why now is the moment to launch yet another war in the Middle East.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said the administration is “giving a lot of thought to the situation. And I appreciate where they’re coming from.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed to reporters on Tuesday that President Trump is “always the final decision-maker” on possible action against Iran, Conservative Brief reported.
During an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning, Leavitt said that US airstrikes in June destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities, even though special envoy Steve Witkoff said over the weekend that Tehran was “probably a week away from having industrial-grade bomb-making material.”
According to Leavitt, the success of Operation Midnight Hammer “does not mean that Iran may never try again to establish a nuclear program that could directly threaten the United States and our allies abroad, and that’s what the president wants to ensure can never happen again.”
Leavitt also criticized a recent spate of stories speculating on when or whether Trump would order an attack in the Middle East.
“The president is always the final decision-maker around here,” she said. “And I’ve seen a lot of sensationalist reporting over the past day that is just completely untrue, and anyone speculating to the media, hiding behind an anonymous source, pretending to know what President Trump is thinking or a decision he will make with respect to action against Iran has no idea what they’re talking about.”