Senator Paul talks ICE in Minnesota, military actions in Venezuela

There’s been a lot to keep track of in the news across the nation recently, and Senator Rand Paul spoke with WHOP News Tuesday about his thoughts on the actions of ICE, circumstances in Venezuela and more.

Protests are taking place in cities across the country, following an incident in Minnesota where a U.S. Immigrant and Customs Enforcement Officer fired shots that resulted in the death of Renee Nicole Good. Senator Paul says there’s arguments to be made that ICE shouldn’t have been there, and matters such as people who are in the country illegally should ideally be in the hands of local law enforcement.

He says the issue is some ‘sanctuary cities’ aren’t reporting when people who are here illegally are committing crimes, which has resulted in ICE going to those areas—so he thinks there’s some blame to go around.

Venezuela and the use of the U.S. military to capture the sitting president, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, is a concern to Senator Paul. He says while he feels that Venezuela is likely better off without Maduro in charge, it was still essentially an act of war that was done without Congressional approval.

He and other members of Congress have since voted to invoke the War Powers Act of 1973, saying that if the President wishes to act further in Venezuela, he will need their approval.

President Trump has also said he would not rule out using military force to take control of Greenland, but Senator Paul says he doesn’t see a world where Congress would approve such a thing. He says he wouldn’t be opposed to the purchasing of Greenland, but he doesn’t think the people of Greenland would be as amenable.

Ultimately, the senator believes these unilateral decisions, from the deployment of ICE to actions taken in other countries involving military forces, shouldn’t be happening without input from Congress, who are the voice of the people since they’ve been elected to represent them.