ZIA FARUQUI’S APOLOGY AN EXAMPLE OF ‘MALIGNANT EMPATHY’ OF RADICAL LEFT IN JUSTICE SYSTEM

Earlier this month, I interviewed Van Epps about the shutdown and the Democrats’ attempts to obstruct DHS funding and illegal immigration enforcement operations. The first thing I asked the congressman was how Democrats who wantonly embrace radical illegal immigration ideology could be held accountable for causing the shutdown and lapse in funding.

“Democrats kept DHS shut down for 76 days, and there will undoubtedly be long-term consequences to DHS operations,” Van Epps told me. “As just one example, more than 1,000 TSA officers quit their jobs in recent months — ahead of the FIFA World Cup, summer travels, and upcoming America 250 celebrations. Even once DHS is fully funded, this problem won’t fix itself. It takes 4-6 months to train new TSA officers, and two shutdowns in the same Fiscal Year will likely serve as a deterrent to recruits.” 

“As I warned in a Homeland Security hearing, this shutdown has created a compounding workforce shortage for one of the most important agencies in the federal government,” Van Epps added. “But Democrats have yet to face any consequences for putting their radical leftist ideology above the security of our nation.”

He then cited President Donald Trump’s memorable moment during this year’s State of the Union address as proof of the Democrats’ destructive ways. He predicted Democrats would be held accountable in this year’s midterm elections.

“I haven’t forgotten that when President Trump asked everyone who believed ‘the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens — not illegal aliens’ to stand during the State of the Union, the Democrat side of the chamber remained seated,” Van Epps said. “It is clear that Democrats’ priorities have shifted, and I believe they will face accountability for it in the upcoming elections.” 

Much of the Democrats’ reasoning for refusing to fund DHS and, in turn, ICE, was because of the events that happened in January, in which Rene Good and Alex Pretti died while in confrontations with illegal immigration enforcement officers. The left-wing politicians tragically weaponized their deaths to try to advance their political agenda. However, in a video, Van Epps called Democrats out on their emotional manipulation, using a whiteboard to illustrate the history of Republican-proposed DHS funding bills that Democrats rejected.

“Minneapolis wasn’t the root cause — it was the excuse,” Van Epps astutely pointed out in our interview. “The reality is Democrats have long pushed to limit ICE’s authority and fundamentally reshape how immigration enforcement works. If that incident had never happened, the fight would’ve surfaced somewhere else.” 

“This was never about one event,” he added, noting the Democrats’ duplicitous nature. “It is a fundamental disagreement that has revealed Democrats’ priorities. They chose to place political ideology over national security and have displayed a disgusting lack of care for the safety of the American public.” 

Since Trump began his second term, and even during his first term, Democrats have vilified and demonized ICE officers and illegal immigration enforcement operations. They have been called Nazis, fascists, racists, brown shirts, and just about every dirty name one could think of in the book — and that is just by Democratic politicians. In the streets, ICE officers have encountered brazen attacks by fanatical left-wing agitators who have weaponized cars to attack ICE officers, thrown Molotov cocktails, thrown bricks at moving cars, and tried multiple assassination plots at ICE centers. Van Epps explained it’s indicative of the toxic ideology that’s consumed today’s Democrats.

“The Left clearly doesn’t care if our streets or our borders are secure,” Van Epps told me. “The more woke ideology has infiltrated the Democrat Party, the more anti-law and order the party has become. It is also clear that Democrats will use every tool, including demagoguery and false narratives, to push an open border agenda. This is unacceptable, and I will continue working with the Trump administration and congressional Republicans to secure our border, enforce our nation’s immigration laws, keep our communities safe, and support our law enforcement entities.”  

CHRIS VAN HOLLEN AND HIS DECORATIVE MARGARITA GLASS HAVE A ‘I DID NOT INHALE’ MOMENT

“Democrats have gone from calling to defund the police to calling to defund ICE,” Van Epps said. “Recall how our border patrol agents were treated under the previous administration. Not only were they kept from fulfilling their mission of securing the border between ports of entry, but they were also maligned for supposedly whipping Haitian migrants back in September 2021. When the story turned out to be a hoax, no one apologized, including President Joe Biden, Border Czar Kamala Harris, or DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. This was a despicable way to treat those who keep our country safe.” 

“And after this treatment from a Democrat administration, I am not surprised that congressional Democrats continue to mistreat our federal law enforcement officers by refusing to fund their agencies even as they put their lives on the line for our safety,” he added.  

“Most Americans are reasonable and don’t fall for the Left’s outrageous narratives, but we’ve got to translate that discernment into election results,” Van Epps said.

I asked the congressman why he felt Democrats would jeopardize national security and sabotage efforts to fund the federal agencies entrusted with protecting American citizens. Van Epps explained that it was due to the Left’s unequivocal thirst for power. He said it’s the only thing they care about at the moment and will do whatever they believe is necessary to obtain it.

“The only thing leftist Democrats in Congress care about right now is power,” Van Epps told me. “They are obsessed with obtaining power and fundamentally changing our institutions and our rules to never lose it again. National security, border security, law and order, and good governance are the furthest things from their minds.”

“It was clear during the Biden administration that Democrats didn’t care about border security despite the actual humanitarian crisis their open border policies caused,” he said. “Democrats were clearly willing to sacrifice the safety and well-being of Americans to saturate the voting pool with illegal aliens and perpetuate their woke globalist agenda. The fact that President Trump has put a stop to this, to them, is unforgivable.”

I also asked the congressman about the Democrats’ hate campaign against DHS, ICE, and all illegal immigration enforcement operations, mentioning the aforementioned physical attacks against the law enforcement officers. Van Epps stressed that every American has a First Amendment right to protest and disagree with the government. However, doing so does not include acts or threats of violence.

“First, there is a clear line in this country,” Van Epps said. “Civil disagreement is protected under the First Amendment, but violence and threats against law enforcement are not — and should never be tolerated, no matter where they come from.” 

PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAD FULL YEAR OF ZERO BORDER RELEASES

“The targeted attacks on ICE over the past several months are unacceptable,” the congressman told me. “Democrats who fan the flame of this unrest need to be held accountable for fueling a dangerous environment that endangers the lives of law enforcement.” 

“It is beneath the office of a public representative to publicly undermine the efforts of the men and women who uphold our nation’s laws,” Van Epps said. “DHS needs the support and appropriate oversight of Congress, not blind condemnation by our nation’s representatives trying to get more donor cash from the far-left wing of their party.”