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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comments calling for the arrest of federal ICE agents drew fiery criticism Friday and a letter of warning from the Trump administration.
Rep. Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement earlier this week that local police could “arrest federal agents if they break California law.”
“And if they are convicted, the President cannot pardon them,” Pelosi and Rep. Kevin Mullin said in a joint statement.
Rep. Pelosi’s warning is part of a growing effort among Democrats to challenge federal immigration enforcement as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche pushed back. He said local officers have no authority to detain federal officers carrying out their duties.
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“You cannot touch federal agents when they’re doing their job,” Blanche said on “Fox & Friends” Friday.
“That’s something that they know. It’s something that we reminded them of last night, because if you do, you’re committing a crime.”
Blanche was referring to a letter he sent Thursday to top California officials, including Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom, warning them not to interfere with federal law enforcement operations. The letter stated that arresting federal agents during official duties is “illegal and futile.”
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Pelosi’s comments follow similar criticism of ICE operations from other Democratic leaders, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
“If you’re an ICE agent, and you do these things, we think you ought to be held accountable. And yet no one in Washington, no one above them, no supervisor, no inspector general is holding anybody accountable,” Pritzker said on “Special Report” Thursday.
“There literally haven’t been any suspensions or firings for the terrible things that they’ve done,” he added.
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Blanche said the comments from Pelosi and Pritzker undermine the administration’s mission to make the country safer.
“What the congresswoman did yesterday, what the governor of Illinois said yesterday, does nothing but harm this country,” Blanche said.
Pritzker also accused ICE agents of racial profiling rather than focusing on removing violent criminals.
Blanche rejected that claim, defending the agency’s actions and calling the accusations “disgusting.”
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“Our law enforcement officers are not violating the Constitution,” Blanche said.
“These false claims that our ICE agents, that our federal law enforcement officers are somehow racial profiling or doing the wrong thing in executing and doing their jobs. And courts have said that we’re right, and the Democrats are wrong.”
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