Jeffries outlines Democrats' demands for changes at DHS and ICE amid funding battle

Geoff Bennett:

For more on the vote today ending the partial government shutdown and the latest on the Epstein files, I spoke earlier today with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

Leader Jeffries, welcome back to the "News Hour."

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY):

Thank you for having me on.

Geoff Bennett:

More than 20 House Democrats voted with Republicans to reopen the government. You voted against the measure. Why?

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:

Well, what's clear to me is that there needs to be dramatic change at the Department of Homeland Security.

We supported the five bipartisan bills that are now on their way to President Trump's desk because they are actually designed to promote the health, the safety, and the economic well-being of the American people.

Rosa DeLauro, top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, did a tremendous job in negotiating those bills. The American people don't want to see their taxpayer dollars, however, utilized to brutalize and kill American citizens.

Taxpayer dollars should actually be used to make life more affordable for everyday Americans. And that's going to be the genesis of the fight over the next 10 days as we approach the funding deadline on February 13 for the Department of Homeland Security.

Geoff Bennett:

That's right. We should explain to folks who might be unfamiliar this agreement kicks off this 10-day sprint now for Democrats and Republicans to agree on policy changes for how ICE should operate.

What specific changes do you believe must be addressed before Democrats support longer-term funding?

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:

Fundamentally, we believe that ICE should conduct itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country.

Police officers don't wear masks. Sheriffs don't wear masks. State troopers don't wear masks. There's no justification for the manner in which ICE is conducting itself in terms of masks. They should be required to have body cameras. They should be required to obtain judicial warrants before they can rip everyday Americans out of their homes or out of their cars.

We want to make clear there's an explicit prohibition from ICE detaining or deporting American citizens, which we have seen examples of, unfortunately. We believe that, if ICE agents break the law, they should be held accountable. And those investigations should be fair, complete and independent, which also means giving state and local authorities the ability to investigate violations of state and local law.

Geoff Bennett:

The DHS secretary, Kristi Noem, said this week that DHS will deploy body cameras to Minneapolis and other cities as funding allows for those agents who are working in those cities.

Is that sufficient? Is that a good enough first step, a sign that the administration is at least open to changes?

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:

Well, Kristi Noem has zero credibility. Certainly, it is the case that body cameras should be required. And we also know that the Department of Homeland Security has more than enough funding.

In the one big, ugly bill, where Republicans enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history and at the same time stripped away about $186 billion in support for nutritional assistance, they literally stole food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans in order to give the Department of Homeland Security a $191 billion slush fund, $75 billion of which went to ICE.

So the funding clearly exists for every single ICE agent to have body cameras on and functioning at all times. And the fact that Kristi Noem is suggesting that there may be a funding shortfall indicates further the lack of credibility that she has. She should be fired. And if she's not fired, I have indicated that the House Democrats are prepared to initiate impeachment proceedings against her.

Geoff Bennett:

In the time that remains, I want to ask you about the Epstein files, because the Justice Department last week released over three million pages of Epstein-related documents. Many of them were heavily redacted. There are legislators who say that not all of the relevant material has been disclosed.

In your view, did the DOJ comply with the congressional intent and with the law in the way that it has gone about making these documents public?

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:

The Department of Justice continues to hide documents from the American people in a manner that is entirely inconsistent with the law that was passed with huge bipartisan majorities and, of course, signed by Donald Trump.

And the question has to once again be asked, what are the Department of Justice lawyers hiding from the American people and who are they protecting? There are more than three million documents that have not been released.

And, as you indicated, several documents have been heavily redacted. And so the survivors of the Epstein crime spree have boldly and appropriately called for accountability and transparency. And the only way to achieve that is to make sure that the Department of Justice releases the Epstein files in their entirety. They have failed to do that today.

Geoff Bennett:

Meantime, the Clintons have agreed to testify in this Republican-led inquiry.

It's led by the House Oversight Committee chairman, James Comer, as you well know. This appears to be an effort by the GOP to make the Clintons the face of this Epstein scandal, the Epstein investigation. The question I have for you, though, is about the precedent. If Democrats win the House come November, does this mean that future investigations will apply the same standard to presidents and political leaders of both parties?

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:

Well, I think that the Clintons have endeavored to enter into good-faith negotiations with a Republican majority that is clearly trying to create a political circus in order to try to distract from the accountability and lack of full transparency that the Trump administration has been blocking since the very beginning of this whole sordid matter.

And so, from our standpoint, I'm thankful that it appears that we're now on a path toward the Clintons reaching an agreement with the House to provide their testimony. But I don't believe that James Comer is a serious individual or that he's seriously trying to actually get information that then can be presented to the American people as part of what we're trying to accomplish here, which is transparency and accountability.

He wants to politicize things. He's targeting the Clintons so he can distract from the fact that the Trump administration is failing to comply with the law, a law that Donald Trump himself signed.

Geoff Bennett:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thanks again for your time this evening.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:

Thank you so much.