Democrats are once again floating the nuclear option — shutting down the federal government — this time over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And leading the charge is Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), who made clear Tuesday that she’s perfectly comfortable holding the government hostage if ICE doesn’t bend to progressive demands.
Appearing on CNN’s The Source, Smith responded to a question from host Kaitlan Collins about whether she would support a government shutdown over ICE funding. Her answer left little room for ambiguity.
“Well, listen, what I have said is that I can’t see any way that I could provide more funding to an agency that is completely out of control,” Smith declared.
There it is. According to Democrats, the agency tasked with enforcing federal immigration law is “out of control” — not because it’s breaking the law, but because it’s enforcing it.
Smith went on to insist she’s not being partisan (of course), claiming she wants Democrats and Republicans to “come together” to impose new restrictions on ICE operations. Among her demands: forcing ICE agents to stop wearing masks during enforcement actions and imposing additional training requirements.
“I think that this is the role and the responsibility of Congress to exercise some oversight and some discipline over what is happening here,” Smith said. “So, I am looking to people on both sides of the aisle to try to bring some sanity to what’s happening in my home state.”
Translation: Democrats want to defund or cripple ICE first — and then maybe talk about “bipartisan standards.”
This is the same playbook Democrats have used before: label law enforcement agencies as rogue, accuse them of misconduct in broad strokes, and then threaten shutdowns unless Republicans agree to weaken enforcement. Notably absent from Smith’s comments was any acknowledgment of ICE’s role in arresting violent criminals, human traffickers, and gang members — or the consequences of kneecapping the agency altogether.
After years of border chaos, record illegal crossings, and communities overwhelmed by the fallout of lax enforcement, Democrats now insist that ICE is the problem — not the policies that created the crisis in the first place.
And once again, they’re willing to shut down the government to prove it.
