Las Vegas Sun: Nevada Democrats disappointed as fellow party members vote to fund DHS

Nevada Democrats in the House of Representatives are decrying the passage of a bill today funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying they were looking to rein in some of the agency's more aggressive tactics.

The bill, which supports the Department of Homeland Security through September, passed 220-207. Seven Democrats, none from Nevada, broke from the party to vote “yes” as one Republican opposed it.

If Democrats voted together, it would have sunk the appropriations bill. The Democratic defectors argue that agencies like FEMA would have had to shut down while ICE would continue to operate due to funding from last year’s “Big Beautiful Bill” even if the appropriations bill failed.

The bill does fund body-worn cameras for ICE agents, but Rep. Dina Titus, along with fellow Democrats, said that provision lacks “commonsense guardrails.” That includes requiring that those body cameras are worn to deter the detainment of citizens and to unmask agents, Titus said in a statement.

Explaining her vote against the bill, Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., referenced a case where agents detained a 5-year-old in Minnesota. A school official said the child was used “as bait,” according to the Washington Post. Thousands of ICE agents have surged into the state starting last month.

ICE's Minnesota operations reached a fever pitch when agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed resident Renee Good. President Donald Trump’s administration has defended the agent, saying Good was using her vehicle as a weapon and that Ross acted in self-defense.

The New York Times has disputed that account, noting that Good’s tires were turning away from the agent when he shot her.

“This vote is about sending a clear message: in America, we have laws that apply to everyone – including law enforcement,” Lee said in a statement. “We must restore checks and balances to ensure ICE abides by the Constitution.”

Lee also raised Constitutional concerns, which were inflamed by a leaked ICE memo stating agents did not need a judicial warrant to enter a home if the occupant has a final order of removal.

The Trump administration argues that they only need an administrative warrant, which requires the signature of an immigration enforcement official. The difference between a warrant signed by a judge and an administrative warrant has been at the center of immigration activists’ “Know Your Rights” trainings.

But Lee also emphasized her support for law enforcement and “the critical role that ICE should play in enforcing our nation’s immigration laws.”

The bill next heads to the Senate for approval.

What Democrats should do with the agency if they retake the White House in 2028 has been a recent subject of debate, with some progressives calling for ICE to be abolished.

“Violent criminals who are in this country illegally should be deported, and we have due process and laws that dictate how we enforce that,” Lee wrote.