Just hours after pushing for a sweeping amnesty plan for illegal immigrants, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) ignited a political firestorm by accusing federal immigration officers of engaging in “human trafficking.”
Appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Frost leveled serious accusations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), claiming agents are “terrorizing our communities” and violating constitutional rights.
“We have ICE federal agents pulling up, terrorizing our communities, hopping out of unmarked vans, stealing, and yes, kidnapping people,” Frost claimed. “And yes, human trafficking them to other nations, other countries around the entire world.”
Frost argued that undocumented migrants are being denied due process, asserting that “every person in this country, regardless of status,” is entitled to constitutional protections. He condemned what he described as “lawless behavior” from federal officers and called on the Biden administration to intervene more aggressively.
Earlier in the day, Frost held a press conference to promote a new bill aimed at forcing public disclosure of data from ICE-operated or affiliated facilities. He also used the opportunity to advocate for a blanket pathway to citizenship, saying, “To my Republican colleagues who say, ‘I don’t want any undocumented people in this country,’ I actually agree with you. So let’s document every single one of them—with a speedy path to citizenship.”
The backlash from Republicans was swift and scathing.
“You can’t make this stuff up,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said. “At a Democrat rally today, Rep. Maxwell Frost proposed blanket amnesty for every single one of the millions of illegal aliens Joe Biden has let into the country. Republicans will never let this dangerous idea happen.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller added, “If Democrats ever regained total control of Washington, they would complete the project of relocating the destitute and developing nations of the world into your neighborhoods—and then hand them the full rights and privileges of American citizenship.”
The controversy underscores a growing divide in Washington over border security, immigration enforcement, and the future of ICE, as Democrats move further left and Republicans dig in on law and order.