Nonbinding resolution supporting ICE passes House

Thirty-four Democrats and one Republican opposed the measure, as 133 Democrats voted present at the insistence of House Democrat leadership.    Thirty-four Democrats and one Republican on Wednesday voted in opposition to a House resolution in support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as another 133 Democrats abstained from a “yes” or “no” vote by voting “present.”
   Introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., the nonbinding H. Res. 990, “supporting the officers and personnel who carry out the important mission of the United States Immigration and Customs and Enforcement,” passed by an official vote count of 244-35, which doesn’t include the 133 lawmakers who voted present and 16 members who didn’t cast a vote.
   Eighteen Democrats voted to support the resolution, with Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan being the lone Republican to oppose the measure.
   The language of the resolution was largely focused on the agency’s immigration enforcement mission, but also noted that ICE seized 980,000 pounds of narcotics in fiscal 2017, including 2,370 pounds of Fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin, logging 90,000 investigative hours directed toward Fentanyl last fiscal year.
   Some congressional Democrats have recently called for the abolishment of ICE as part of a groundswell of criticism from those opposed to the executive branch’s illegal immigration approach.
    Trade consultants recently told American Shipper that abolishing the agency could harm executive branch criminal trade enforcement efforts, after ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection made more than 32,000 seizures involving counterfeit goods totaling an estimated value of more than $1.2 billion in FY 2017.
   “Calls to abolish ICE are an insult to these heroic law enforcement officers who make sacrifices every day to secure our borders, enforce our laws and protect our safety and security,” the resolution states.
   House GOP leadership originally had hoped to hold a vote on binding legislation sponsored by several liberal Democrats to outright abolish ICE, as GOP lawmakers sought to put Democrats directly on the record concerning their stance.
   But then GOP leaders backed away after some among their ranks said such a vote would too easily give Democrats the opportunity to escape criticism.
   Also, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has vowed not to consider any immigration legislation lacking President Donald Trump’s support, which led to him and his colleagues in leadership ultimately deciding to consider legislation to support ICE rather than terminate it, according to a report by The Hill, citing a source with knowledge of GOP leadership discussions.
   Despite several Democrats’ calls to abolish ICE, House Democrat leadership recommended members vote “present” and viewed the vote on the resolution as a “sham,” according to a McClatchy article that cited a Democrat leadership aide.
   That followed indications by sponsors of the bill to abolish ICE that they would oppose the legislation if it hit the House floor, as they leveled charges that Republicans would be trying to score political points by holding such a vote.