STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois is part of this discussion. After the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Quigley changed his mind about ICE, saying it could not be reformed and must be dismantled. Congressman, good morning.
MIKE QUIGLEY: Good morning. Thanks for having me back.
INSKEEP: What do you mean by dismantled? Are you in favor of abolishing ICE, as some people say?
QUIGLEY: Look, I voted no on DHS funding for this, and I'll vote no again. Reforms are no longer enough to course-correct here. We have to dismantle ICE and start over, rebuilding an immigration enforcement agency from the ground up. We need people keeping the border secure, making sure drugs and people aren't tracked into the country and removing the worst of the worst criminals. But they're not doing that. We've seen the horrors and the terror of what they're doing. So I don't trust this agency. I think you dismantle them and you start anew with the original mission of the agency in place.
INSKEEP: It seems likely that's not going to happen in this negotiation, so let's talk about the situation now. We just heard that Republicans seem to be on board with body cameras. There is some support for limiting these roving patrols. What else do you think is realistic to get out of this negotiation?
QUIGLEY: You know, I think they shouldn't wear masks because what we've seen here is that there's no accountability when they're not mearing wasks (ph). But we've also seen police across the country wear ID, whether it's some sort of QR code. If they're worried about them being doxed, a QR code - you know, the agency and people will know who those are and not the general public. I mean, maybe that's a compromise. But look, there's just too much at stake here - protecting sensitive locations, stopping racial profiling. And then, again, we're not asking ICE to do anything that we don't ask of every police force in the country. They have to uphold the use-of-force standards. There should be some coordination with state and local officials. So that's not a lot to ask. That's all we've asked Chicago Police Department and every police department in the country.
INSKEEP: I had not heard this idea previously that you're discussing about QR codes. I want to make sure I understand this. The idea is, instead of their name on the uniform, the agent has a QR code, and people who are standing around monitoring this with their phones can scan the QR code with the phone. And maybe they don't learn the agent's name, but they're able to report this specific person did this specific thing, and someone can investigate later. Is that what you mean to say?
QUIGLEY: Look, you asked what the fallback might be. I don't think they should wear a mask. But I'm just saying this is how unreasonable they are. If there's some sort of QR code where the agency knows who they are and if something bad happens, as it's had happen all too often here, there is at least some way that we can find out who's responsible and someone can be held accountable. That's, at least, some way. I'm not suggesting that's the ideal. I'm suggesting - to answer the question, is there a way to compromise on this? Frankly, we're way past that. At this point in time, we've got to take this agency down and start anew with an agency who gets its mission and doesn't exceed it on a daily basis.
INSKEEP: Sounds like you're going to be a no vote regardless on this DHS funding, but you're surrounded by other Democrats and Republicans. And in conversations, is it your sense that the deadline is going to be missed, that it is likely that DHS, the other parts of DHS, will shut down for a while?
QUIGLEY: Yeah. I don't see any middle ground popping up right now. You know, when the president of the United States talks about, well, we've got to fund FEMA, and you have to be voting for this or you vote against FEMA, just a few months ago, he was talking about dismantling FEMA. Seems to forget that much of the reason that we need FEMA is his total disregard for climate change and the extreme weather events that we're experiencing. So the president's hypocrisy is showing here. I don't want to shut down any level of government. The irony is ICE has been so dramatically funded, you know, they won't be hurting in a shutdown. Their budget was tripled. And when they talk, again, about a lack of body...
INSKEEP: Yeah.
QUIGLEY: ...Cameras, they've got all the money in the world to buy what they need.
INSKEEP: OK. Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois. Thanks very much for your insights. Really appreciate it.
QUIGLEY: Thank you. Take care.
INSKEEP: Have a good morning. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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