Democrats in Congress are floating the idea of slashing funds to ICE and Homeland Security as a pressure tactic, according to Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) on CNN’s “Laura Coates Live.” Ivey bluntly admitted that his party is “looking [at] cutting off the funding to try and get Homeland Security’s attention” amid frustrations over immigration enforcement. This isn’t just tough talk—it’s a direct threat to defund agencies tasked with border security, signaling a willingness to hobble federal operations when they don’t align with progressive priorities.

For the 2A community, this is a flashing red warning light. If Democrats can casually threaten to starve ICE and DHS of resources over policy disagreements, what’s stopping them from turning that playbook on ATF or other gun-control enforcers? We’ve already seen Biden’s administration weaponize these agencies against law-abiding gun owners through backdoor regulations and Operation Chokepoint 2.0, freezing banking access for firearms businesses. Cutting funds to get attention sets a dangerous precedent: fiscal blackmail as a tool to bypass Congress and the courts. Imagine the outcry if Republicans proposed defunding the FBI to rein in FISA abuses or ATF’s rogue pistol brace rule—yet here we are, with Ivey normalizing it for open-borders activism.

The implications ripple outward. A weakened DHS means porous borders, flooding communities with unvetted migrants and cartel-fueled crime waves, which in turn fuels the very urban violence that anti-gunners exploit to push red-flag laws and assault weapon bans. 2A advocates must rally now: contact your reps, amplify this clip, and frame it as exhibit A in the Democrats’ war on law enforcement writ large. If they gut ICE today, your local range or FFL dealer could be tomorrow’s target—stay vigilant, armed, and vocal.