Fetterman has renounced calls to defund ICE as members of his party oppose illegal immigration enforcement.
The government is approaching a potential partial shutdown in the wake of ICE actions in Minnesota.
All seven Democratic members of the Pennsylvania delegation in the U.S. House sent a letter to Senators Fetterman and McCormick on Tuesday calling on them to vote against funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and the Border Patrol.
“We urge you to stand with us in opposing any DHS funding bill that does not include critical reforms. We look forward to working together to advance legislation that both keeps our nation secure and upholds our fundamental values,” wrote the lawmakers in the letter that encouraged the senators to cast a vote that would lead to a partial government shutdown.
The effort was led by Democratic Representative Chris Deluzio. Democratic Representatives Brendan Boyle, Dwight Evans, Madeleine Dean, Mary Gay Scanlon, Chrissy Houlahan, and Summer Lee signed the letter as well.
“We voted against this bill last week and ask that you do the same. Funding without adequate reform risks endorsing current approaches that undermine public safety and due process, erode American liberties, and weaken public trust,” said the letter.
Senator Fetterman, also a Democrat, has promised that he will support funding for DHS even though he condemns the actions carried out by ICE in Minnesota.
Fetterman called for the firing of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem but said he “will never vote to shut our government down, especially our Defense Department.”
“I reject the calls to defund or abolish ICE. I strongly disagree with many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis, and believe that must change,” the senator said.
Senator McCormick, a Republican, has called for a “full investigation into the tragedy in Minneapolis,” and reaffirmed his support for ICE and the Border Patrol.
Following the second death of a U.S. citizen that was shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats would not vote in support of the appropriations bill that funds DHS.
The failure of the bill in the Senate would begin a partial government shutdown not long after Democrats closed the federal government over expiring health care tax subsidies from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senator Fetterman’s potential vote in support of the legislation would be the latest in a string of instances when the senator broke with his party on key issues to vote alongside Senate Republicans.
