Geoff Bennett:
The partial government shutdown that has stalled funding for the Department of Homeland Security has entered day six with no signs of compromise between Congress and the White House.
The shutdown started last week after congressional Democrats pushed for reforms of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
Our Lisa Desjardins has more on the funding fight.
Lisa Desjardins:
Both the House and the Senate are out of town this week, but what they have heard from constituents at home will matter when they return on Monday.
One key swing vote belongs to freshman Republican Ryan Mackenzie. He represents Pennsylvania’s Seventh District bordering New Jersey. It includes the Lehigh Valley and the city of Allentown, and he joins me now.
Congressman, ICE is a major issue in your district. I know that at least one county has said they will not cooperate with ICE. There’s a detention center coming in the county next door outside of your district. But I want to start with you. How do you see this immigration crackdown? Do you support it?
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA):
Well, after four years of an open border during the Biden administration, we were seeing and feeling the impacts of that illegal immigration flow right here in our local community.
If you go on DHS’ Web site, you can see some of the violent offenders that have been arrested, arrested in our cities, so very heinous individuals that should have been taken off the street. And when we do have those people that are detained, we want ICE to be able to appropriately pick them up.
As you mentioned, Northampton County, unfortunately has a sanctuary policy basically in place that does not allow them to release those individuals directly into ICE custody. That leaves our community vulnerable and less safe than it should be. And so I really push back on those policies strongly.
And I think we do need to make sure that we are appropriately taking people off the street who shouldn’t be here and are committing these violent crimes. At the same time, we are open and I’m certainly open to reforms and the way that we can actually improve these operations at the federal government level.
It’s something that I think, in every case, whenever you see instances like we saw in Minneapolis, which are very unfortunate, tragic situations involving American citizens, we do want to look at, what are the possible reforms, the way that we can improve the way that everything is being conducted in law enforcement.
And so I have been open to those discussions and a part of them as a member of the Homeland Security Committee recently, where I directly asked Director Lyons about what we should be doing to improve operations around and involving U.S. citizens.
Lisa Desjardins:
OK, let’s talk about those key reforms because that’s under discussion right now. That’s why DHS essentially has no funding, what Democrats are hoping for.
So they’re saying they want a list of 10, but I want to ask you about some of the key ones. Tell me if you support or oppose any of these ideas, banning face masks, requiring identification for ICE officers and whether there should be some kind of increased warrant requirement for entering homes. Where are you on those ideas?
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie:
Well, I think we do also have to balance the way that the Democrats are approaching this. They have been very public about it. People like Senator Chris Murphy have said that they want to handcuff ICE and they actually want to limit the way that they can conduct operations.
That is not something that we want to do. We want to make sure that they can fully enforce federal law, taking those violent criminals off the streets. Now, at the same time, when you’re talking about ways that we can identify our agents appropriately, there should be identification on these individuals. Maybe it’s not a name.
Maybe it’s a badge number, but some way that if an officer is involved in an instance, an officer-related shooting or something else, that they could be identified if they do have a mask on. And so the controversy around masks, I think, is one that we do want these individuals to be able to show their face.
At the same time, this is not a choice that they made lightly. They didn’t do it because they wanted to cover their faces or — but it’s because they really needed to. I mean, we have seen instances where these individuals have been doxxed, their families have been harassed.
So, if you’re going to take a masking elements away from these individuals, which I would be open to having a discussion on that front, we should also make sure that we have a good proper enforcement around the harassment and doxxing of these federal law enforcement agents.
So, there is an appropriate balance that I think could be struck there. And the Senate and the White House are really taking the lead on these negotiations. And so we would like to see some reforms, a reasonable reform package that can get bipartisan support, coming back to us in the House.
Lisa Desjardins:
At the same time, the top issue, I don’t have to tell you, for Americans remains the economy, and that includes prices.
I looked at the largest grocery store in your district, which I think is the giant store in Allentown, and checked their prices. A honey crisp apple — now, given you that’s a more luxurious apple, I suppose — even on sale, that’s 12 percent higher, the cost today, than it was a year ago, national average.
Chicken breast — I’m a mom, I use chicken breast all the time. That price is up 9 percent at your local grocery store from last year. President Trump promised that grocery store — grocery prices would come down. How do you respond to those who look at you and say Republicans have failed?
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie:
Yes, I think the economy is still a top issue for individuals right here in our local community. And it’s everything from food and fuel, housing and health care. All of those different elements are things that we are working on.
When it comes to grocery prices in particular, it is a challenge, there is no doubt, to make sure that we provide the relief for individuals in those necessary staples that you’re talking about. And so one of the things that we can provide relief on the flip side, not just in the cost category, but the income side, is to provide significant tax relief for every single American.
By increasing the standard deduction, we’re providing that. And then in certain categories, it’s an expansion of no tax on tips or overtime, AN increased deduction for seniors. So in all of those ways, people are going to be seeing and feeling more money back in their pockets this tax season.
And that is a very helpful thing when you’re trying to make ends meet in your family budget.
Lisa Desjardins:
Congressman Ryan Mackenzie, thank you so much for joining us.
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie:
Thank you.
