Rep. Amash explains why he was only Republican who voted no
We have been hearing for weeks now that many in the Democratic Party, both elected and members, want to abolish the Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency (ICE).
Three Democrat Congressmen and women, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and co-sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) even introduced a bill that would abolish ICE.
In fact the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan wanted to accommodate the Democratic Party and put their “Abolish ICE” bill up for a vote yesterday. Even the Democrats who introduced the bill said they would vote against their bill because what the Speaker was attempting to do was a political stunt. It is a political stunt to put up for a vote a bill that you introduced and presumably wanted to be voted on, if not why introduce it. Oh wait, were you performing a political stunt?
So in the spirit of compromise Speaker Ryan allowed a resolution expressing support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and rejecting calls to abolish the agency to be voted on yesterday.
The final vote was 244 to 35 with 133 Democrats voting “present”.
Of the 244 yes votes and 35 no votes there were:
- 226 Republicans and 18 Democrats who voted yes
- 34 Democrats and one Republican voted no
Who was that one Republican who voted against supporting ICE, well it was none other than Michigan’s own Congressmen Justin Amash who represents Michigan’s 3rd congressional district.
Congressmen Amash called into my show this morning, The Live with Renk Show. Listen to Congressmen Amash's reason why he was the only Republican who voted no on the Resolution to support ICE: