Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Johnson County is drawing criticism from local advocates after she bucked her party’s positions on two key immigration-related issues in recent weeks.
Davids this week was one of just 21 Democrats in the U.S. House who voted in favor of a bill temporarily extending funding for the Department of Homeland Security, amid the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
At the same time, Davids is one of an increasingly small group of House Democrats who have not signed on to a resolution calling for the impeachment of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Davids said she voted for the funding package on Tuesday to “avert a prolonged government shutdown and deliver critical investments Kansans rely on,” including spending on roads and aviation infrastructure in Johnson County.
The measure funds several federal departments, including Transportation, Education, and Housing and Urban Development, through the end of the year, but only gives Homeland Security two weeks of funding.
In an emailed statement to the Post, she said DHS “must be subject to strong oversight, transparency, and accountability,” and that the funding bill this week clears the way for Congressional negotiators to hammer out reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement that many in her party, as well as advocates locally and around the country, are calling for.
Democratic leaders on Wednesday laid out their list of “guardrails” for ICE that they want instituted in order for a longer-term DHS funding measure to pass after the current one expires on Feb. 13.
Those demands include barring immigration agents from wearing masks, and requiring them to both wear body cameras and get judicial warrants to enter private property, and barring operations near sensitive locations like schools and churches.
“My vote gives Congress more time to negotiate meaningful ICE reforms,” Davids said this week. “I’ll keep working across the aisle to ensure our laws reflect both our values and our responsibility to keep communities safe and families secure.”
“Beyond disappointed”
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Still, advocates in Johnson County who have been critical of the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement said they hope Davids will do more to hold the White House and DHS accountable.
Moti Rieber, a local rabbi and executive director of Kansas Interfaith Action, said the recent funding bill was the “one point of pressure” Democrats had for trying to force concessions from the Trump administration.
“A major American city is under siege by a militarized, brutal ICE agency, unconstrained by the law and answerable only to the President and Kristi Noem,” Rieber said in emailed comments to the Post. “By approving this latest DHS funding, Rep. Davids guarantees that the chaos will continue. I am beyond disappointed that she has refused to use her leverage in this situation.”
Jana Sullivan-Peterson, a community organizer with Heartland Mission Indivisible in northeastern Johnson County, said “our community overwhelmingly supports allowing DHS funding to lapse on February 13 unless meaningful accountability measures are put in place.”
In an emailed statement to the Post, Sullivan-Peterson noted, specifically, her group’s support for policies like mandatory body cameras for immigration agents and “an end to sweeping patrols in favor of truly targeted arrests.”
“These are not extreme demands — they are basic safeguards that reflect our values around civil liberties, transparency, and community safety. We are disappointed that Rep. Davids voted to extend DHS funding without these protections attached,” Sullivan-Peterson wrote in her statement to the Post.
“We hope Rep. Davids will use the coming weeks to engage directly with her constituents and, on February 13, vote in alignment with the clear priorities of the voters she represents,” she added, noting the date the current DHS funding is set to expire.
Davids not on board with impeaching Noem
At the same time, Davids has not joined most other House Democrats in signing on to a resolution, first filed last month by Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly, calling for the impeachment of DHS Secretary Noem.
As of Thursday, 187 of the 214 Democrats in the U.S. House had signed on as cosponsors of the impeachment measure, including Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City, Missouri.
Pressure on Noem has ramped up, particularly in the past few weeks, following the killings by federal agents of two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis.
Polling increasingly shows Americans souring on the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement amid the ongoing conflict in Minnesota.
An NPR/PBS/Marist poll conducted in the final week of January showed 65% of respondents said ICE has “gone too far” in its immigration enforcement operations.
Another poll conducted by left-leaning think tank Data for Progress showed a majority of respondents (52%) think Noem should be impeached.
On Wednesday, border czar Tom Homan announced the Trump administration would reduce its force of federal agents in Minnesota by 700, or by about 25%. Still, 2,000 officers remain in the Twin Cities, as enforcement operations continue.
Davids called the killings of Good and Pretti “horrific” and said that Congress has a duty to “seek justice and transparency.”
“I support efforts to ensure accountability and oversight. Something has to change, and that means all options should be on the table,” she said in a statement emailed to the Post.
But she suggested that impeachment was an unrealistic avenue to pursue.
“I’m also realistic about the political make-up of Congress. While an impeachment vote against the Secretary likely isn’t going to pass, we should keep pursuing meaningful ways to make sure accountability actually happens,” Davids said. “That means demanding full transparency, independent investigations, and real consequences for misconduct — not political spin or lies — so that no family ever has to endure this kind of loss again.”
Again, Rieber said Davids is not doing enough to hold the Trump administration accountable.
“The resolution calling for the impeachment of Sec. Noem may be mostly symbolic, but it sends the important message that officials can and will be held accountable,” he said in his statement to the Post. “Rep. Davids is passing on an opportunity to deliver a strong moral message against ICE chaos and in support of our immigrant neighbors. But since she voted for the DHS funding also, maybe it’s a moral message she doesn’t really agree with.”
