Sen. Ron Johnson on Sunday accused Democrats of trying to weaken immigration enforcement by pushing new limits on federal officers following the killings of two American citizens in Minnesota last month.
In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," the Wisconsin Republican said immigration enforcement could be improved but that Democrat proposals go far beyond reasonable reforms.
"I have a great deal of sympathy for, again, the secretaries, the people charged with cleaning up this enormous mess," Johnson said.
"Is it perfect? Absolutely not," he added. "Can things be tightened up? Sure. But the way to tighten it up is not to neuter our ability to enforce our immigration laws."
Democrats have called for changes to immigration enforcement following the death of Alex Pretti, who was shot by Customs and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, as the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown.
Pretti's death followed the killing of another American, Renee Good, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
In response, Democrat lawmakers have proposed requiring ICE officers and Border Patrol agents to wear body cameras, banning agents from wearing face coverings, and placing new restrictions on the types of warrants that can be used before making arrests or conducting searches.
The standoff over DHS funding led to a partial government shutdown over the weekend.
Johnson said he was particularly concerned about proposals requiring judicial warrants, noting immigration enforcement has long relied on administrative warrants issued by the Department of Homeland Security.
"Demanding judicial warrants is their sneaky way of basically neutering our ability to enforce any immigration laws," Johnson said. "Immigration has always been enforced through administrative warrants."
Democrats have focused on warrant requirements following reports about a previously undisclosed memo that allows ICE agents to forcibly enter homes without a judge's warrant. Immigration advocates say the policy raises concerns about Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Johnson said the emphasis should be placed elsewhere, calling on state and local governments to work more closely with federal authorities.
"We need cooperation," he said.
"State and local governments, when they have detained a criminal that's committed violent crimes or whatever, they need to notify ICE and leave that individual in jail, so ICE can pick them up in the jail, where it's safe for everybody concerned, as opposed to sanctuary citizen states that don't cooperate with ICE," Johnson concluded.
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