05.20.26

Defund-the-Police Democrats Abandon Law Enforcement

After Plunging the Department of Homeland Security Into Two Government Shutdowns, Senate Democrats Are Forging Ahead in Their Attempts to Defund Border Security Officers

DEMOCRATS WALKED AWAY FROM FUNDING FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT NUMEROUS TIMES

  • Last summer, Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) began threatening that he and his caucus would not take part in the regular appropriations process: “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is warning Republicans they'll risk a government shutdown all alone,” telling Republicans not to expect “business as usual.” (Axios: GOP cuts trigger Democratic warnings on government shutdowns – 7/9/25; The Hill: Republicans fear Washington headed for shutdown after bruising spending fights – 7/21/25)
  • Schumer’s threats culminated in the two longest government shutdowns in history, both of which impacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). (The Wall Street Journal: Senators to Suspend Their Pay During Government Shutdowns – 5/14/26)
    • “Democrats won’t vote for ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] spending…” (Punchbowl News: AM: Reconciliation 2.0: Challenges, Opportunities and Tensions – 4/2/26)
    • In January, following a bipartisan agreement to finish funding the government through regular appropriations, “Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee and key negotiator on the funding package, had been pushing her colleagues to vote for the homeland security bill.” (PBS News: Funding deal begins to unravel as Senate Democrats vow to oppose DHS bill over Alex Pretti shooting in Minnesota – 1/26/26)
    • But Democrats reneged on their own offer, “including some who had helped Republicans end the record shutdown last year.” (PBS News: Funding deal begins to unravel as Senate Democrats vow to oppose DHS bill over Alex Pretti shooting in Minnesota – 1/26/26)
    • After months of good-faith offers from Senate Republicans and the White House, Democrats kept moving the goalposts:
      • “Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said Democrats should ‘quit moving around’ on DHS funding.” (CNBC: Republicans balk at Senate Democrats’ DHS shutdown counteroffer – 3/25/26)
      • “We literally offered what they asked for three days ago and then suddenly it’s like, oh no, now we got new stuff. This has been the story of the entire time. This has been the constant journey — one more thing, one more thing, one more thing.” – Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.)

WHY? BECAUSE PROGRESSIVES HAVE REVIVED THEIR DEFUND-THE-POLICE MOVEMENT OF THE EARLY 2020s

  • Democrats’ past “defund the police” movement was a policy and political disaster: “As violent crime surges ahead of the November midterms, President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are toughening their talk on crime, and refunding the police only two years after some progressive activists took up the call to defund them.” (NBC News: How Democrats went from defund to refund the police – 2/6/22)
  • Yet, several years later, Democrats are at it again: “History might not repeat itself, but the slogans sometimes do.” (The Atlantic: ‘Abolish ICE’ Is Back – 1/18/26)
  • “And some Democrats running for Congress in blue districts around the country have revived a phrase from the first Trump administration: ‘Abolish ICE.’” (The New York Times: Abolish ICE? It’s a Slogan Some Democratic Critics of ICE Would Abolish. – 1/15/26)
  • “Unlike during Trump's first term, it's not just progressives taking up the ‘defund ICE’ banner. The idea is proliferating even among the more moderate and establishment wings of the party.” (Axios: Inside Democrats' brewing war over the resurgence of "defund ICE" – 1/12/26)
    • “Democratic Senate candidates in Illinois and Michigan have also used the phrase [‘defund ICE’]…” (The Washington Post: Democrats want to ‘reimagine’ immigration enforcement. Just don’t say ‘abolish ICE.’ – 1/31/26)
    • “Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said on a podcast that Trump had corrupted ICE so deeply that Democrats ‘have to abolish it.’” (The Washington Post: Democrats want to ‘reimagine’ immigration enforcement. Just don’t say ‘abolish ICE.’ – 1/31/26)
    • “[Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.)], a leading member of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, said he is ‘totally open’ to trying to reduce ICE's funding and quipped: ‘Consider me a progressive.’” (Axios: Inside Democrats' brewing war over the resurgence of "defund ICE" – 1/12/26)
    • “‘We need funding reductions ... policy is not enough,’ said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who stressed that ‘“defund” and “abolish” are two different things.’ ‘Some of us are at the “abolish” place, proudly. And I think moderates can start thinking about what does “defund” mean,’ Ramirez told Axios.” (Axios: Inside Democrats' brewing war over the resurgence of "defund ICE" – 1/12/26)

AMERICANS KNOW DEMOCRATS WILL NEVER BE SERIOUS ABOUT SUPPORTING BORDER SECURITY OFFICERS

  • An April Fox News poll found that voters believe Republicans do a better job on national security (53%), crime (54%), immigration (54%), and border security (58%). (Fox News Poll – April 2026)
  • 58% of voters believe that Democrats stand for open borders. (Harvard/Harris Poll – April 2026)
  • A plurality of U.S. adults believe that Republicans have a better approach to immigration policy for the U.S. than Democrats. (CBS News Poll – May 2026)
  • In an April 2026 UMass Amherst poll, 70% of Democrats and 78% of self-professed liberals called for the abolishment of ICE.
    • Only 38% of respondents polled supported abolishing ICE. (UMass Amherst Poll – April 2026)