Virginia leaders denounce ICE
Virginia’s two senators and congressional representatives from Northern Virginia are speaking out against ICE after the murders of two protestors in Minneapolis.
Sen. Tim Kaine said he won’t support the House-approved appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security because it lacks “effective safeguards against ICE operations that inflame tensions within our cities, terrorize our communities, and make all of us less safe.”
“I’m voting no on DHS funding,” Sen. Mark Warner tweeted. “We cannot be silent while ICE agents kill Americans. Will Republicans find a spine to join us?”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “never should have been confirmed, and she’s made it abundantly clear since she isn’t up to the job. It’s long past time for her to go.” Warner said.
“The Department of Homeland Security is murdering American citizens. Congress cannot allow that to continue; we must act,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D) in a video message. “We need a full, independent investigation into these killings.”
Beyer calls the murder of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, “the most horrifying act of our government I’ve ever seen on video.”
The video shows Pretti trying to protect a woman who’s been shoved to the ground and pepper-sprayed by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent. CBP agents then “pepper spray him, tackle him to the ground, and then shoot him in the back again and again – shots the Department of Homeland Security insanely calls ‘defensive shots,’” Beyer said.
Beyer calls for ICE, CPB, and other DHS personnel to leave Minnesota and other cities “where they have been sent to sow division and fear.”
Related story: Protesters take a stand against ICE
“No more occupation,” Beyer said. “No more assaults on Americans peacefully exercising their rights. No more masked agents. No more warrantless entries. No more mass arrests to fill deportation quotas.”
Beyer urges the House of Representatives to impeach Noem. “She’s obstructing local authorities from investigating two murders committed in Minneapolis by DHS agents. DHS cannot be allowed to investigate itself. That’s how it’s done in dictatorships, not in America.”
Rep. James Walkinshaw (D), a former Fairfax County supervisor, also calls for Noem to be impeached. “She has violated her oath of office by overseeing a lawless campaign of brutality, repeatedly violating the law and the Constitutional rights of American citizens.”
“In just the past six months, there have been more than 2,300 documented cases of DHS, ICE, and others illegally detaining people – including children and hundreds of American citizens,” Walkinshaw said. “These aren’t small mistakes or errors. They are violations of the rule of law and human rights violations.”
Meanwhile, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger issued an executive order that rescinds an executive order from the previous governor that required state and local law enforcement to divert their limited resources to enforce federal civil immigration laws.
“Ensuring public safety in Virginia requires state and local law enforcement to be focused on their core responsibilities of investigating and deterring criminal activity, staffing jails, and community engagement,” Spanberger wrote. “Federal authorities should enforce federal civil immigration laws. Law enforcement in the commonwealth should prioritize the safety of all residents in Virginia, the enforcement of local and state laws, and coordination with federal entities on criminal matters.”
Absolutely agree, Noem should be impeached…but make no mistake, she is only following someone else’s directive…
Here are the directives Noem is following:
8 U.S.C. § 1325 (Improper Entry): This law makes it a criminal offense for any non-citizen to enter or attempt to enter the U.S. at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, to elude examination, or to make false statements.
8 U.S.C. § 1326 (Re-entry After Deportation): This law makes it a felony to unlawfully re-enter, attempt to re-enter, or be found in the U.S. after having been deported or removed.
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996: This act strengthened previous laws by imposing 3-year and 10-year bars on legal re-entry for individuals who accrued “unlawful presence”
8 U.S.C. § 1324 (Harboring/Smuggling): This statute makes it a crime to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection any person who has entered or remained in the U.S. illegally.
If only she were following those laws, and only those laws. But she is directing federal agents to violate the Constitution, state, and local laws as well.
If seditious insurrectionists stopped thwarting federal agents from enforcing immigration policy, we could all live in peace ☮️
I just read the statutes, maybe you should too. 1325 makes improper entry a civil offense, not a criminal one. 1326 applies criminal penalties to people who re-enter who already have a conviction–people who re-enter and do not have convictions accrue civil liability per the statute. I don’t see how 1324 comes into a conversationabout this article; this statute applies to people who conceal undocumented persons, not to people/localities who decline to assist in immigration enforcement. Bottom line, unlawful entry is not criminal. But even if it was, I don’t see how anyone can support anything as blatantly evil and profoundly un-American as what we’re seeing ICE do.
What are you talking about? Where are you reading this? Per DOJ:
Section 1325 sets forth criminal offenses relating to (1) improper entry into the United States by an alien, (2) entry into marriage for the purpose of evading immigration laws, and (3) establishing a commercial enterprise for the purpose of evading immigration laws. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) amended 8 U.S.C. § 1325 to provide that an alien apprehended while entering or attempting to enter the United States at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil penalty.
If only federal agents were not violating the Constitution and state and local laws.
what does our Mason Supervisor have to say in the most diverse district in the county? Absolute silence! Supervisor in McLean made a strong statement and that District is primarily void of immigrants.
Our supervisor is the only person in his neighborhood not to clear the snow and ice from his driveway.
And his yard and house is unkempt during the year.
Why is the one person in the neighborhood who can’t maintain his own home supervising a district?
It’s all corruption
Ironic the no kings crowd (including Annandale Today) continues to be completely comfortable acting as judge & jury by declaring “murder” has been committed. Guess not being king all depends, huh?
Twice Annandale Today has said it on your own and twice when quoting others–the recently elected Braddock supervisor and now Congressman Beyer.
One obvious question is: you’ve concluded both deaths were intentional and with malice of forethought? There is no other possibility? Would’ve been great questions for a journalist to ask an elected official except of course you’ve already forfeited any objectivity. And you could have so easily asked if we should wait for an investigation, trial, and of course, conviction before we proclaim guilt.
What a garbage take on this. Would we all agree that we should wait for a full investigation to occur so we can properly assess? Of course! Sure seems like the Trump Administration has made up their mind per the below quotes. Funny, I didn’t see you mention these which runs counter to what you are accusing others of doing. You can do better…. I hope.
Per Stephen Miller on Twitter regarding Alex Pretti:
“A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists.”
Per Kristi Noem: she claimed he “attacked” officers and said he was “brandishing” a gun.
Per Gregory Bovino: “looks like” Pretti “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement”
So you don’t disagree. “Murder” hasn’t been determined and thus shouldn’t be cited as fact by journalists and especially by your elected officials.
Agree, comments you cite were inaccurate.
The mental gymnastics of someone saying the public is playing judge and jury after a federal agent decided to play judge, jury and executioner is truly impressive.
Thank you. Good of you to say so.
How do you shoot someone, that you’ve beaten to the ground, ten times not intentionally? How do you call someone you just shot three times (unintentionally?) a f——g b—- without malice?
Go ahead, sit around and wait for a legitimate investigation and some accountability from this administration… come back and comment when it happens.
Thanks Judge