Democrat Tim Ryan Claims He ‘Never Called for Defunding ICE’ After Vowing to Do So in 2019

COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 01: Democratic Senate nominee from Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) speak
ICE/Andrew Spear/Getty Images
John Binder

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), running against Republican J.D. Vance for Ohio’s open United States Senate seat, claims he “never called for defunding” the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. In 2019, though, Ryan vowed to cut the agency down by 75 percent.

During a Fox News town hall, Ryan was asked by an Ohio voter why he previously opposed border wall funding and pledged to defund ICE while running for president in 2019.

“You voted against funding for border security, you voted against funding for the border wall, you voted against funding for drug enforcement, and you called for defunding ICE. Why?” the Ohio voter asked.

Ryan, in response, said, “I absolutely never called for defunding ICE, not one time, not one time … not one time.”

In 2019, though, Ryan pledged to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that he would cut ICE down by 75 percent — vowing t0 reduce the agency’s annual budget, freeing all border crossers and illegal aliens arriving as family units or claiming asylum, and eliminating bail for those in ICE custody.

When specifically asked by the ACLU in 2019, “Will you commit to reduce the size of the immigration detention system by at least 75 percent,” Ryan responded “Yes.” Such a plan would massively cut ICE agents’ ability to arrest, detain, and deport illegal aliens living in the U.S.

In a similar ACLU survey, Ryan pledged to also free about a million inmates from jails and prisons across the U.S. in four years. That plan would have seen the U.S. prison population cut by 50 percent.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here. 

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