By Hannah Saunders

“Indiscriminate, overly aggressive slogans like ‘Defund ICE’ are not the solutions,” Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D – 3) said in a statement following her January 22 vote to continue funding ICE, which narrowly passed in the House by 220-207. Despite being a Democrat and public outcry, Gluesenkamp Perez has a history of siding with MAGA politicians when it comes to legislation, with this vote being her most recent action.

Six other House Democrats also voted in favor of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, which would add at least $770 million to ICE’s budget— which is on top of more than $170 billion in taxpayer dollars that was allotted to ICE in July under the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Other House Dems who voted in favor are Jared Golden of Maine; Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi of New York; Don Davis of North Carolina; and Henry Cuellar and Vincente Gonzalez of Texas.

“Funding provided in this agreement supports existing programs that protect the Nation from all manner of threats and ensures the Department’s ability to improve preparedness at the Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels; prevent and respond to terrorist attacks, and hire, train, and equip DHS frontline personnel protecting the country,” according to an explanatory statement by the House.

While the Senate still has to vote on the DHS funding bill, if passed, $400 million would go towards ICE’s expansion of incarceration camps across jails on the local and state levels, as well as military bases and warehouses. Over 70,000 people are being detained in these facilities, including 6,000 who are in family detention facilities, stated the National Immigration Law Center.

Another $370 million would fund ICE’s enforcement budget without any new accountability measures, allowing DHS and its entities to perpetrate further harm and violate people’s constitutional rights. The voting on this bill comes just weeks after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, 37, in her car with her wife on January 7. The following day, federal agents shot a Portland couple, and a Venezuelan man in Minnesota on January 14.

“The House vote in favor of excessive funding for ICE with no meaningful accountability measures is wildly out of touch with polling that shows the majority of voters oppose ICE and Border Patrol’s attacks on our communities. The bill fails to rein in ICE and Border Patrol at a time when they are engaged in an unprecedented assault on our rights, safety, and democratic way of life. The billions in funding in this bill will only embolden ICE and CBP to continue arresting our neighbors – immigrant and U.S. citizen alike – no matter the costs to our communities, economy, and integrity of our Constitution.”

— Kate Voigt, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union

Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents Southern Western Washington’s Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Skamania, and Clark Counties, issued a statement about her vote, and noted how rejecting the bill would lead to a government shutdown. She said this would impact fishermen in Pacific County, who rely on the Coast Guard for safety, and that FEMA also provides assistance during landslides and floods.

“[DHS] is extremely important to my community. I could not in good conscience vote to shut it down. Many in my community, myself included, believe the Administration was on the right track when they pledged to secure our borders and uphold law and order. However, it now appears to many of us that in pursuit of politically motivated removal goals and rushed timelines, federal law enforcement is being pressured to exercise overly aggressive tactics that endanger law enforcement and civilians.

“This is corrosive to the long term security and stability of our great country…We should not be forced into a false choice between having no border security and arresting US citizens,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.

She added how she’s frustrated the Democratic House leaders have accepted a “false narrative— that shutdowns solve problems— instead of being honest about the tools we have at our disposal and working towards bipartisan solutions to protect public safety and our constitutional rights.”

SAVE Act and midterms

Earlier last year, Gluesenkamp Perez once again split off and voted with MAGA to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or “SAVE Act.” While it failed to move forward, it would have forced people to provide proof of U.S. citizenship— like birth certificates, U.S. passports, naturalization paperwork, and others— before registering to vote to reduce alleged voter fraud.

But millions of Americans have changed their names, including Transgender and Nonbinary people, and married women. The Center for American Progress estimated that about 69 million American woman have changed their last names to that of their spouse’s. For these groups, their birth certificate doesn’t match their current name, creating dangerous hurdles.

In another statement explaining her vote, she said “I do not support noncitizens voting in American elections— and that’s common sense to folks in Southwest Washington.” Gluesenkamp Perez neglected to mention the impact this Act would have had on different members of her community.

Gluesenkamp Perez has been representing Washington’s 3rd Congressional District since 2023. The previous year, she won a narrow victory against MAGA candidate Joe Kent, which led to a recount of votes and Kent conceding. At the time, Gluesenkamp Perez ran on reproductive freedom, supporting working families, and “ending the influence of corporate money,” according to her 2022 campaign website.

Gluesenkamp Perez is up for reelection during this year’s midterms. Her Vancouver office telephone number is (360)695-6292, and the Washington D.C. number is (202)225-3536.

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