LIVE: Hakeem Jeffries holds a press conference

Good afternoon everyone. House Democrats continue to focus on making life better for the American people. To drive down the high cost of living. To fix our broken health care system. To make sure that immigration in this country is fair, just, and humane. To ensure that TSA agents are paid as opposed to being forced to work without pay so that Republicans can continue to prevent ice from being rained in. And of course we're going to continue to work on ending this reckless war of choice in Iran where Donald Trump and Republicans are spending billions of dollars to drop bombs in the Middle East but won't spend a dime to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits in order to ensure that more than 20 million Americans are able to afford to go see a doctor when they need one. We're fighting for health care not warfare and Republicans are doing the exact opposite. Senator Schumer and others keeping you in the loop on this and are you open to the framework that's being offered? I have not spoken to Leader Schumer this week but do expect to talk with him later on today now that we're back in session and here's the thing. We've been very clear. ICE should be compelled to conduct itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country and not expend billions of dollars in taxpayer money to brutalize and in some cases kill American citizens as was tragically the situation with Renee Nicole Good and Alex Freddie. ICE should not be violently targeting law-abiding immigrant families and making our communities less safe not more. And at the same period of time the problem is that Republicans have decided that they'd rather force TSA agents to work without pay, inconvenience millions of Americans all across the country and create chaos at airports rather than enact into law common sense things like requiring ICE agents to secure judicial warrants before they can break into the homes of the American people and rip them out of their beds in the middle of the night. And so we'll evaluate in good faith whatever is presented but it's got to be consistent if it's going to deal with ICE with the types of changes that are bold meaningful and dramatic. If I can follow up, I mean the last shutdown, like you had for the first time for basically the last hour is this falling into the same region? No that has not been the case. And further on these negotiations if it if the deal is what we've been reporting which is that the deal would fund all of DHS except for ICE's law enforcement capacity, is that a win for Democrats? Well we have to take a look at what the definition of ICE's law enforcement capacity is, what they are allowed to do in terms of funding and not do and what type of changes are in the legislation that is presented. When we've been very clear from the beginning, ICE needs to be brought under control. We cannot have a situation where taxpayer dollars are being used to brutalize and kill American citizens. Not a complicated proposition that we've been fighting hard to achieve. In a country where the American people want immigration enforcement to be fair, just and humane, we're going to continue to make sure that there are secure borders. But we do have a broken immigration system and we should fix it. Let's do it in a comprehensive and bipartisan way. But what this Trump administration has done trying to jam these extreme mass deportation violent policies down the throats of the American people is unacceptable and it's a non-sustainable thing at this point in time. Well it's a question as to what is actually funded and what's not funded. Now we have a discharge petition that is live right now already north of 125 signatures or so working to complete that process over the next few days that would make sure that we pay TSA agents, that we fund the Coast Guard, that we fund FEMA, and that we fund cyber security professionals who are working hard to keep us safe if we can't get to a resolution this week as it relates to the type of changes that are necessary to get ICE under control. Now if it's that type of agreement then of course there's going to be strong democratic support. It's consistent with the legislation that Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro has already introduced and that we're working hard to force an up or down vote on on the House floor. If it's something different then it remains to be seen how House Democrats will react. We'll have to have a conference, a caucus meeting to discuss it. A couple questions about the SAVE Act. Is there any concern, opposition to the SAVE Act? Maybe it's the perception your party is against voter ID which has some popularity across the country but also what do you make of a president voting by mail that the SAVE Act seems to try to stop voting by mail? Yeah we have made clear repeatedly that we support voter identification laws and here in this country elections are administered by states and localities and each state and locality has the ability to determine what is the most appropriate form of voter identification that should be required for their citizens to participate in voting in that state. New York state has very strong voter identification laws which I support and which does facilitate voting that allows for maximum participation by citizens while at the same period of time ensuring that the elections are free and fair. This is a state's right issue. What happened to the days when Republicans actually supported state's rights? These people are phony and the example right now amongst many is the fact that for years Donald Trump has been railing against voting by mail only to turn around and vote by mail in the special election that's taking place today in Florida. That's king-like behavior. Rules for me that don't apply but not for thee. That's his position and this legislation the so-called Save Act has nothing to do with ensuring that elections are conducted with integrity. Donald Trump and Republicans who are in the midst of running the largest pay-to-play scheme in the history of the country if not the world want to lecture us about integrity? Get lost. They've got zero credibility on the voting issue or on any of these issues. This is all about trying to prevent a midterm massacre at the polls because Republicans know they have failed the American people. They have failed to lower the high cost of living. Life is more expensive. They've broken our health care system. They're spending billions of dollars to drop bombs in the Middle East. Won't spend a dime to make life more affordable for the American people and they've been losing elections for the last 15 months and so Republicans have concluded that we better try to jam this so-called Save America Act down the throats of the American people as part of our continuing schemes to rig the midterm election. We're not going to let it happen. Thank you Mr. Is the President's sign-off part of the calculus that Democrats will have as they decide how to move forward? If you're if you still believe that Republicans especially in the House can't do anything without the President's permission, how important will his sign-off be in any decision that Democrats make on how to move forward on this issue? We know it's an irrefutable fact that House Republicans can't do anything without getting permission from Donald Trump. House Republicans don't work for the American people. They work for Donald Trump. They've demonstrated that repeatedly. They are nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda and so part of the reason why there haven't been fruitful or successful negotiations for more than 30 days in the midst of the Trump Republican shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which is now inconveniencing millions of travelers all across the country, is because Donald Trump hasn't given them the sign-off to sit down and have a conversation with Democrats to actually negotiate a resolution that's consistent with our values on all the things including immigration enforcement and so we'll evaluate the proposal. Nothing has been presented to me yet so there's nothing for us to evaluate as it relates to any direct communication with Mike Johnson or Republicans but if there is something to evaluate, I'll have the conversation with Leader Schumer. We'll talk to our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Details are going to be important in terms of what's funded and what's not funded in the absence of meaningful, bold, or dramatic changes that need to be made to rein ICE in and get them under control. And just on you not speaking to Leader Schumer yet, do you just attribute it to the fact that you all are just getting back today or are you still in regular communication? Yeah, we're in regular communication. I was on the road yesterday. It's my expectation to talk to him later on this afternoon. Thanks, Leader Jefferson. You've mentioned ICE a number of times. You haven't mentioned CBP, but that's part of the DeLauro bill. You're withholding funding from ICE and CBP. It's our understanding that the deal that's emerging over in the Senate would fund CBP in full. Is that a red line over here? Does CBP have to be a part of this broader enforcement mechanism that you want to withhold funding from until you get these reforms? My opposition relates to ICE and Donald Trump's violent, extreme mass deportation machine. And to the extent that any other parts of DHS are part of it, then there's got to be dramatic changes that are made and, in my view, funds withheld until that period of time. If there are restrictions that have been built into the legislative proposal that apparently Republicans have presented or are prepared to present to us, then we'll take a look at that. Last week, you sort of floated or teased a War Powers resolution. Can you share any more details on the contours of that resolution? Yeah, we're in ongoing conversations with Greg Meeks and Jim Hines and Adam Smith about moving forward with a War Powers resolution sooner rather than later. When we present something on the floor, it's our determination to win. We need to end this. The House needs to act. Billions of dollars in taxpayer money should not be spent in dropping bombs in the Middle East right now when life is unaffordable for the American people. These extremists, Republicans, have made life more expensive. The Trump Towers have made life more expensive. This war is dramatically increasing gas prices all across the country in an environment where their refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits has dramatically increased health insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans directly and tens of millions of Americans who get health care from their employer indirectly. This has been a train wreck. We have to get America back on track. And it's our commitment as Democrats to do that. And part of that is going to involve making sure we can pass a War Powers resolution on the floor that succeeds on the floor and led by Greg Meeks. That's what we're working to do. Thank you, Leader Jeffries. What do you think about airlines like Delta cutting off these special perks for members of Congress while the shutdown is going on? We need to resolve the issue of paying TSA agents and we should pay them now. It's not that complicated. Not a day should go by before we get that done this week. And I'm unconcerned with any services being cut off at this point to members of Congress. Our focus should be on everyday Americans, on hardworking federal employees, and on TSA agents. And we need to get this done this week. Thank you, everyone.