Nirav Shah says ICE reform would be worth a shutdown
FREEPORT — Nirav Shah said Monday he would not support any additional funding for federal immigration enforcement efforts until the agency is reformed and held accountable for its aggressive tactics under President Donald Trump, even if opposing the funding would lead to a government shutdown.
Shah, the state’s former director of Center for Disease Control and prevention, criticized Republican Sen. Susan Collins for appropriating $70 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the end of Trump’s second term.
“I would vote ‘no’ on any appropriations for ICE,” Shah said at a news conference. “They have proven themselves unable and incapable of discharging their mission in a manner that does not result in the murder of Americans and other citizens. By definition, they have lost their way.”
Shah was addressing reports that a man was shot and killed by authorities in Biddeford on Monday and that ICE was involved.
Shah, a Democrat, is one of a half dozen or so Democrats running in a pop-up primary for U.S. Senate, after Democratic nominee, Graham Platner, withdrew from the race after a Maine woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021. He denied the accusation.
Speaking to reporters after a policy rollout, Shah said an estimated 8-10 people have been killed by federal law enforcement in Trump’s second term.
Shah said shutdowns, whether total or partial, are “troubling,” but may be necessary to reform the agency.
“If you take the position that we should not shut down the federal government, then what you are saying is that: those numbers of eight to 10 people, that’s just not enough people, and that is absolutely morally unacceptable,” he said. “And so I refuse to say, well, that’s not enough death or destruction. That is a cowardly position, and I will not embrace it.”