Rep. Randy Fine sharply criticized Democrats on Newsmax Monday, accusing them of undermining U.S. border enforcement and national sovereignty as protests and legislative efforts target Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The Florida Republican told "Wake Up America" that Democrat opposition to ICE and CBP goes beyond policy disagreement and reflects a broader effort to weaken immigration enforcement despite what he described as a clear mandate from voters.
"For Democrats to get in the way just shows how much many of them hate the United States of America," Fine said, adding that enforcement agencies are being unfairly vilified for carrying out federal law.
Fine said ICE and CBP are simply performing their assigned duties by removing individuals who entered the country illegally and enforcing border security.
"All ICE and CBP are doing is keeping out foreigners," he said. "That is their job. We should be supporting them in doing that."
The comments come amid renewed demonstrations against ICE facilities and Democrats' calls to rein in enforcement operations or reduce funding. Supporters of those efforts argue the agencies' practices are overly aggressive, while Republicans contend that limiting enforcement amounts to de facto open borders.
Fine rejected the criticism, framing immigration enforcement as a public safety issue rather than an ideological one.
"These people aren't even dealing with Americans," he said. "These are foreign invaders... they just came into the country on their own, they are oftentimes looting us, taking welfare they don't deserve. They're told to leave, and they refuse. If these people had never come, or if they left when they were told to, we wouldn't need any of this."
The Florida lawmaker also connected the current immigration debate to recent election cycles, saying voters were fully aware of Republican plans to strengthen border enforcement and expand deportations.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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