LEADER JEFFRIES ON NPR: "WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ICE AGENTS ARE CONDUCTING THEMSELVES LIKE EVERY OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY"

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, where he made clear that Republicans need to join Democrats in demanding dramatic reforms at DHS to ensure agents do not continue brutalizing the American people. 

STEVE INSKEEP: Leader Jeffries, welcome back.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Good morning. Great to be with you.

STEVE INSKEEP: Do the two parties agree broadly that you should restrict ICE in some way?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Democrats have certainly articulated a position on behalf of the American people that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, not brutalize or kill them. We believe that immigration enforcement should be fair, it should be just and it should be humane. That is not what is taking place right now. ICE is completely and totally out of control and they need to be reined in, which is why we need dramatic reform at the Department of Homeland Security. And Republicans either are going to support those reforms, or they'll make the decision that they want to shut down other aspects of DHS, like Coast Guard, like FEMA and like TSA, which would be very unfortunate.

STEVE INSKEEP: A useful point, just to note, that DHS seems to have its funding in place, or rather the immigration authorities have funding in place. Other parts of DHS would be affected here. I want to ask about one of your particular demands. You want agents to take off their masks. As a citizen, I very much understand the case for this. The agent works for me. I'm their employer. I pay their salary. They're doing my business. They should identify themselves. And when they ask for my ID, I should require them to give their ID. But Republicans respond with this fear of doxing, that agents will be targeted. Do you believe that happens to agents, and can you offer any way to deal with their concern?

LEADER JEFFRIES: We want to make sure that ICE agents are conducting themselves like every other law enforcement agency in the country. And that is something that I think is consistent with who we are as Americans. Police officers don't wear masks. County sheriffs don't wear masks. And state troopers don't wear masks. In fact, there's no evidence that FBI agents wear masks. And so, this is a unique situation in terms of how ICE is conducting themselves, and part of the challenge is that it leads to a view amongst many Americans—I think, correctly—that these agents are behaving themselves with violent and brutal impunity, as opposed to being held to standards that are consistent with not using excessive force, not brutalizing people or, in some instances, not killing people in cold blood, as was the case with Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. 

STEVE INSKEEP: I look forward to this fall's elections because we heard Claudia Grisales there say that both parties want to own this issue. Democrats would like to own this issue of immigration, which has been a big disadvantage for them in the past. But there's a couple of parts here. One is don't kill Americans, so I get that part of your message. But the thing that drew a lot of voters to President Trump on immigration in the first place was a feeling that they wanted border enforcement, a secure border. They didn't want so many people without legal status getting in. Can Democrats, in seeking to get votes this fall, commit that they would take care of border security?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yes, we want a safe, a strong and a secure border. We also want to make sure we recognize that we have a broken immigration system, and it should be fixed. But we want to fix it in a bipartisan, in a comprehensive manner, not a my-way-or-the-highway approach and certainly not allowing taxpayer dollars to be used to target law-abiding immigrants, to target—violently—everyday Americans or, in some cases, to actually kill, in cold blood, everyday Americans, horrifying people as we watch this happen in plain sight.

STEVE INSKEEP: But you would secure the border is what you're saying. You would stand for that.

LEADER JEFFRIES: We absolutely believe that the border should be secure at all times. But that's not what's taking place right now. What we're seeing is aggressive interior enforcement that's inconsistent with the promises that Donald Trump made to the American people. He said that he was going to target violent felons. That is something that, as Democrats, we support, that the American people support, targeting violent felons who are here unlawfully. But what we're seeing is that law-abiding immigrant families, in some cases a five-year-old boy with a Spider-Man backpack, have been targeted. And that, of course, is completely and totally unacceptable. And we know that the American people have correctly concluded that ICE has gone way too far, Donald Trump has gone way too far and this is not what people expected to see from this administration in this area based on their own promises to the American people.

STEVE INSKEEP: In about 20 seconds, how are you feeling about this fall's elections for Congress?

LEADER JEFFRIES: House Democrats are going to work hard to lower the high cost of living, fix our broken healthcare system, combat corruption and make sure we take back control of the House of Representatives in the fall. 

STEVE INSKEEP: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives. Thanks, as always. Good to talk with you.

Full interview can be listened to here.