Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said Wednesday on CNN’s News Central that former President Donald Trump owes an apology for what she described as the “unconstitutional” and “terrorizing” actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during recent deportation operations.
Co-host Brianna Keilar pressed Jayapal on a social media post in which the congresswoman accused ICE of behaving “like a terrorist force.” The White House responded to the remark by calling it “disgusting” and said ICE agents are “heroic,” demanding an immediate apology from Jayapal.
Jayapal defended her comments, describing the reported behavior of ICE agents as deeply disturbing.
“What is deranged, cruel, and outrageous is that we are seeing agents — I assume they’re ICE — who show up in plain clothes, without identification, wearing masks, and are literally kidnapping people off the streets of the United States,” she said. “Never in a million years did I think I’d see something like that in America.”
Jayapal went on to argue that it’s the Trump administration — not her — that owes the public an apology.
“I believe it’s the administration that needs to apologize to the American people — to U.S. citizens, to legal permanent residents, to people who have lived here for decades with legal status and no criminal record — who are being targeted and swept up by masked men and deported,” she said. “This is unconstitutional, it’s illegal, and it’s absolutely terrorizing communities.”
Jayapal concluded, “The White House owes an apology to the American people for what they are doing under the guise of immigration enforcement.”
