Joe Morelle Voted to Thank ICE

The congressman is trying to play to all sides.

Image taken from recording by Kayden Goode during recent immigration enforcement action in Rochester

Update: Only minutes after I posted this, Morelle appeared on WXXI. He briefly answered why he voted for the resolution, saying, “Honestly I struggled with it. I would not have written it that way. These are not easy questions…I felt in that moment speaking out about antisemitism and hate crimes was the most important thing in that resolution so I voted for it.” The problem with this answer is that there was a second resolution that did not thank ICE that could have accomplished this goal. That measure passed unanimously. I maintain that linking antisemitism to immigration crackdown is terribly wrong. During the interview, Morelle also insisted he has consistently and forcefully spoken out against Trump’s immigration tactics, which this post shows is not really true. The good news is, today he didn’t make the distinctions between legal status and citizenship that he’s made in other statements. Progress?

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Earlier this month, Congressman Joe Morelle voted for a House resolution that expresses gratitude to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The resolution rightly condemned a horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado on a peaceful march for the release of hostages held by Hamas. But the resolution didn’t stop at condemning antisemitism and violence—it quickly pivoted into a full-throated endorsement of ICE. The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, faces 118 criminal charges. He is also an immigrant, and that fact became the resolution’s central focus.

Here’s what the resolution said:

“(2) affirms that free and open communication between State and local law enforcement and their Federal counterparts remains the bedrock of public safety and is necessary in preventing terrorist attacks; and
(3) expresses gratitude to law enforcement officers, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, for protecting the homeland.”

Most House Democrats saw the trap for what it was—an attempt by MAGA Republicans to weaponize antisemitism in service of their anti-immigrant, authoritarian agenda. As a Jewish person, I am appalled that antisemitism is being used this way. But Seventy-five Democrats fell for it, Morelle among them.

Amid backlash, some lawmakers have since walked back or explained their votes. One said it was a mistake. Another said no resolution is perfect. Another claimed their vote didn’t mean they endorsed every word.

But not Morelle. He hasn’t said a thing. The media hasn’t pressed him.

In a recent 13WHAM interview about Trump’s workplace raids, Morelle said ICE should only target criminals—not “workers with legal status:”

"That's who we want to have deported. But we don't want people who are working…They may not be citizens, but they may be here because they were from Venezuela, which was given temporary protected status, or they were here from Afghanistan, or here from other places, and go through a process those raids were starting to target those people.”

But many workers don’t have legal status—and ICE raids routinely target them. In fact, people with criminal convictions made up only a third of those arrested and detained, and the most common charges were minor traffic or immigration-related offenses. Families are being torn apart. Morelle’s framing erases many of these hardworking—and innocent—people entirely.

And just days before that, he gave WHEC this remarkably awkward comment, focused only on ICE abuses against citizens:

“People have the right to assemble and they have the right to air their grievances in front of their government,” Morelle said. “So, when people protest some of the tactics used by Homeland Security—where they are indiscriminately taking people into custody not checking whether they are citizens, we’ve seen U.S. citizens being deported and detained—people have a right to protest. Having said that, protestors never have the right to physically attack police or law enforcement.”

It seems the congressman is evolving by the day—but there’s still so much he won’t say.

He’s never spoken out against Trump sending innocent men to El Salvador’s brutal mega-prison without even a hearing—for life. He voted for the Laken Riley Act, which allows federal authorities to detain immigrants merely accused—not convicted—of crimes. In Buffalo, a 20-year-old with sickle cell anemia could die in custody because he was accused of stealing underwear.

And he’s not alone in his silence.

County Executive Adam Bello—Morelle’s close ally—hasn’t said a word either. Both men support Greece Town Supervisor candidate Jeff McCann and Sheriff Todd Baxter, who were endorsed by the Conservative Party—a party fully aligned with Trump’s deportation agenda. None of them appeared at or even acknowledged recent No Kings protests or the growing campaign against Avelo Airlines for deportation flights.

This isn’t just disappointing. It’s dangerous.

Immigration is the issue that could cost us our democracy. It is the pretext for Trump’s plans to send troops into cities. It is the excuse for locking up students protesting Israel’s conduct in Gaza. It is what led to masked, plainclothes federal agents snatching people off the streets. It’s why Democratic elected officials are ending up in handcuffs. It is what has judges warning that unchecked abuse of immigrants will eventually come for citizens too. You simply cannot carry out a mass deportation program of this scale without becoming a police state.

And right now, it’s the issue that has the City of Rochester—entirely in Morelle’s district—getting sued by the Trump administration. To my knowledge, Morelle has never even said he supports sanctuary policies. Only that the city has the right to enact them. When Tom Homan came to visit, Morelle’s statement again focused on citizens, not unlawful abuses against noncitizens.

We don’t know what Morelle was thinking when he voted to thank ICE. But we know what he’s said. We know what he hasn’t said. And we know what he’s done—and failed to do.

Right now, one thing is certain: Joe Morelle is on record thanking ICE.