SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Top immigration officials are testifying on Capitol Hill this week ahead of Friday's deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats have refused to fund DHS without changes to how federal agents conduct immigration sweeps, and Republicans are reluctant to approve significant reforms to an immigration enforcement operation that they broadly support. So how can the parties find any common ground before DHS runs out of money on Friday?
We have invited on two lawmakers, one from each party, to talk about all of this. Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi of New York. Together, they co-chair the Problem Solvers Caucus. They both penned a letter to the White House urging President Trump to take this moment to consider a broader bipartisan fix to immigration and immigration enforcement. Thanks to both of you for coming on.
BRIAN FITZPATRICK: Thanks for having us.
TOM SUOZZI: Yeah, thanks, Scott.
DETROW: Let me start with this. I'll start with Congressman Fitzpatrick then turn to Congressman Suozzi. You both work together a lot. You talk about finding common ground, getting solutions. So I actually would love to start with what the biggest area you disagree on when it comes to immigration, when it comes to immigration enforcement because, I mean, that tells us a lot about the possibility of a deal. Congressman Fitzpatrick, let me start with you.
FITZPATRICK: In terms of policy, both of us agree that the border needs to be secure. Both of us agree that we need to be humane and show compassion when it comes to enforcement in the interior. Both of us agree that you have to separate out the dangerous, violent offenders who pose a public safety threat from the people that are here in this country undocumented who have committed no other crime other than crossing the border. You know, Tom may disagree. But, you know, in my communications with him, there's been no distance whatsoever.
SUOZZI: Yeah, we don't disagree between the two of us. And I think there are a lot of Democrats and a lot of Republicans could easily come to a way forward to, as Brian said, to secure the border, to fix the broken asylum system, to legalize a bunch of people that have been here for more than nine years, since President Trump first came into office. The problem is, is that the people that are most involved in politics these days, most passionate in politics, are often off at the extreme edges. So we have to do the hard work of functioning in what is a toxic environment to say, listen, we share more in common than what divides us - let's try and push that through.
DETROW: So the two of you seem to be mostly on the same page in saying there is a path forward here. I think it's clear to everybody that Congress as a whole is not necessarily on that page, and I'm wondering what you think the biggest challenge is. Whether it's a short-term deal, whether it's a longer-term deal, what is the biggest sticking point? Is it the idea of any sort of restrictions on ICE and Border Patrol operating within the U.S.? Do you think it's something else?
SUOZZI: Well, we certainly need to have restrictions on the way that ICE is operating now. I think that we've really just hit a tipping point after Alex Pretti was killed. And, you know, I've long said that, you know, the president's right, we have to secure the border. The president's right, we have to deport violent criminals. The president's right, we have to go after violent cartels.
But he's squandering any success he's had in that respect on these raids that are taking place that are really - have been, I believe, illegal and immoral in many ways. And, you know, they're economically unwise, they're socially destructive, and they're morally wrong. And I think most Americans are leaning in the position, you know, we want to go after the gangs. We don't want to go after the gardeners.
DETROW: So Representative Fitzpatrick, everything that Representative Suozzi just said, how many Republicans in the House, do you think, would by and large agree with what he said?
FITZPATRICK: Believe it or not, the majority.
DETROW: Yeah.
FITZPATRICK: You know, the challenge, unfortunately, is politics gets in the way for a lot of these people. We're not going to get to an agreement on all the things that need to be fixed with ICE in a week. It's not going to happen in a week. It's going to take time. It's going to take a lot of conversations, just like we had post-George Floyd. But in terms of ICE, we should all agree that the masks should come off. We should all agree on the need for body cameras, you know, 24/7 that they're in operation.
DETROW: Well, I don't think the White House agrees on the mask question, though. And that feels like a pretty key...
FITZPATRICK: Well, that's - listen, I'm speaking on my own behalf. And I'm also telling you, the conversations that I have with many, many of my colleagues on the floor, they agree with that.
DETROW: You are both saying things that I think if you polled the majority of Americans would agree with, right?
FITZPATRICK: Yeah.
DETROW: But we are living in a world where you know that, if anything, congressional districts are going the opposite direction as both sides get more and more redistricting.
FITZPATRICK: Yeah, and we got to fix that.
SUOZZI: That's one of the biggest problems we have.
DETROW: Sure.
FITZPATRICK: We got to fix that.
DETROW: Sure. And you have seen immigration and ICE and Border Patrol enforcement become something that has terrified a lot of Americans. This has become some of the biggest political crises we've seen in a long time. So I guess my question is, given the reality of the world we are facing right now, what do you both think the path forward is in this Congress for this issue that you both clearly care about?
FITZPATRICK: I will answer that question. I think that for the immigration issue with DHS funding, which is the issue right before us right now, we do very, very short-term CR extensions that are always coupled with one reform, right? So what's the easiest reform that we can all agree on? Let's say body cams, right? So how about we do a two-week extension of DHS funding, and we add that one reform? And then if we want another two-week or another month extension, we add another reform that we all agree to. That way, at least incrementally, we make that progress and we get to where we need to be.
DETROW: That is Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi of New York. They are co-chairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus. Thanks for talking to us.
SUOZZI: Yeah, thank you.
FITZPATRICK: Yeah, thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
