Yuri Gripas/Reuters
A group of progressive freshman Democrats have officially put their foot down on increased funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Oman (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) released a statement Thursday saying that they will vote no on a bipartisan bill to avoid a government shutdown, because DHS “does not deserve an increase in funding.” “The Department of Homeland Security has separated thousands of children from their parents, denied asylum to those fleeing danger, and used taxpayer dollars as a slush fund to incite terror in immigrant communities,” their statement reads. The bill, introduced late Wednesday night, would fund DHS and avert another partial government shutdown at the end of the week. The bill allocates over a billion dollars for “pedestrian fencing” on a section of the border.