‘I failed’: House Democrat who voted to fund ICE publicly apologizes

Democratic New York Rep. Tom Suozzi voiced regret on Monday after crossing party lines to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week.

Suozzi, a centrist Democrat representing a House district President Donald Trump won in 2024, apologized for voting Thursday to fund federal immigration enforcement following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol officer on Saturday. The New York lawmaker was just one of seven House Democrats who bucked party leadership to support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill funding ICE, Border Patrol, and many other agencies in a 210-207 vote.

“I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” Suozzi said in a statement posted to social media. “I hear the anger from my constituents, and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior, and I must do a better job demonstrating that.”

The DHS spending bill would fund the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for the remainder of the fiscal year. The legislation also kept funding for ICE flat at $10 billion and doled out $18 billion to Customs and Border Protection.

Republicans — and some Democrats — pointed out that failing to pass the DHS bill would hurt non-immigration agencies more, while ICE could continue its operations due to a $75 billion infusion the agency received in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“If we allow a lapse in funding, TSA agents will be forced to work without pay, FEMA assistance could be delayed, and the U.S. Coast Guard will be adversely affected,” Democratic Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro said in a statement.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team notably did not whip their members to vote against the DHS funding bill.

Democratic lawmakers have sharply criticized ICE following Pretti’s death, which was the second killing of a U.S. citizen by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in January.

Democratic New York Rep. Laura Gillen, who also voted to fund ICE on X, threw her support behind the push to impeach DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday following Pretti’s killing. Gillen, who narrowly defeated a Republican incumbent in 2024, represents a swing seat on Long Island that borders Suozzi’s district.

Suozzi and Gillen both previously voted for the Laken Riley Act — legislation that supported Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown. Both lawmakers also supported a resolution that, in part, thanked ICE agents in June 2025.

The two Long Island Democrats also distanced themselves from then-New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in the lead-up to the general election last November.

Democratic Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, one of the seven House Democrats who voted to fund ICE, said Monday that he stands by his vote.

“It was not to fund ICE,” said Gonzalez, who represents a border district that backed Trump. “But what I was voting for was to ensure our agencies, our federal agencies here in South Texas, were funded.”

“We could lose FEMA funding in the event of a freeze,” Gonzalez continued.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to block any funding for ICE, raising the prospect of a partial government shutdown ahead of the Jan. 30 funding deadline. Senate Republicans have said they will advance the House-passed appropriations package, including ICE funding.

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