By: Jordan Baker

As the New York Post reported, Long Island’s two Democratic members of Congress bucked their party’s leadership last week by voting with Republicans to approve a massive spending bill that boosts funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a move that has ignited fury among progressives now calling for both lawmakers to be primaried.

Reps. Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi, who each represent large portions of Long Island and openly brand themselves as “moderate” Democrats, crossed the aisle to support a GOP-led $64.4 billion Department of Homeland Security funding package. According to the Post, the bill includes roughly $10 billion earmarked for ICE.

The measure passed the House 220–207, with Gillen and Suozzi joining Republicans to push it over the finish line, the New York Post reported. Their votes immediately drew backlash from Democratic colleagues, particularly on the left, who accused the pair of empowering an agency they say has operated with little accountability.

Despite the outrage, both lawmakers stood their ground — and even criticized fellow Democrats who opposed the bill. Gillen said she backed the measure because it included what she described as “commonsense guardrails” while ensuring immigration enforcement agencies remain funded.

“I support funding our immigration enforcement and the commonsense guardrails that have been included in this package,” Gillen said in a statement cited by the Post. She added she was “shocked” that other Democrats would vote against national and community security funding, effectively leaving ICE to operate under existing conditions.

As the New York Post reported, Gillen and Suozzi were not alone. Five other Democrats joined them in supporting the bill, while Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie cast the lone “no” vote among GOP lawmakers.

Critics of the measure, including Massie and most House Democrats, argued the bill amounted to a “blank check” for ICE at a time when the agency has faced mounting scrutiny. The Post noted that opposition has intensified following controversial ICE operations in Minneapolis, which some activists and lawmakers have labeled “authoritarian.”

Suozzi acknowledged concerns about ICE’s conduct but argued that opposing the bill outright was irresponsible. In a statement reported by the New York Post, he said, “There is no question ICE has overstepped its bounds,” but added that the legislation “ensures continuity for the critical agencies that keep our country safe and functioning.”

That explanation failed to placate progressive Democrats. As the Post reported, figures such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti blasted the Long Island lawmakers, insisting there was “no excuse” for supporting ICE funding and urging voters to hold them accountable in future primaries.

Republicans, meanwhile, offered little praise — though for different reasons. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the top GOP official in the districts Gillen and Suozzi represent and the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, dismissed their bipartisan credentials altogether.

“Congresswoman Laura Gillen and Congressman Tom Suozzi are not fooling anyone with their sudden effort to rebrand themselves ‘moderates,’” Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle told the New York Post.