Frederick, MD – April McClain Delaney was caught lying about her MAGA, pro-ICE record again today — this time to Punchbowl News. In the AM Punchbowl report, McClain Delaney was quoted defending her vote, thanking ICE for “protecting the homeland” while agents terrorized immigrant communities in her district and across the country.

Her explanation: “This was before ICE became ICE.” 

The resolution, which she supported in June 2025, came after Marylander Kilmar Abrego Garcia was illegally deported to El Salvador. Thousands of Americans — including some of McClain Delaney’s own constituents — were held in ICE detention, and countless more had been deported. But incumbent Congresswoman April McClain Delaney claims that “this was before ICE became ICE.”

Leading up to the resolution, McClain Delaney voted with MAGA Republicans to expand ICE’s ability to detain unlawful immigrants without conviction for crimes as minor as shoplifting, and she also voted to make domestic violence survivors vulnerable to deportation for reporting their abusers.

“April McClain Delaney is lying about her MAGA pro-ICE record, and she’s trying to muddy the waters with her nonsensical word salad,” said Gaby Krevat, Communications Director. “But the facts are the facts: many of her very own constituents were being rounded up, held in detention centers, and deported before she voted on the resolution. Immigrants were being held in Guantanamo while she was making votes to expand ICE’s power, and she was the only Maryland Democrat to make these votes.”

“McClain Delaney votes with Trump and MAGA Republicans 22% of the time, and there’s no spinning her way out of her record,” Krevat added. “Voters won’t forget it.”

Title: ICE bites Dems in primaries

Author: John Bresnahan, Max Cohen, Jake Sherman and Ally Mutnick

Date: May 4, 2026

ICE bites Dems in primaries. The last line of a House GOP resolution from June 2025 is wreaking havoc on center-left Democrats running in contested primaries this cycle.

Following last summer’s anti-Semitic Molotov cocktail attack in Boulder, Colo., the House passed a resolution by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.) condemning the incident. Evans’ resolution frustrated Democrats because it focused on the immigration status of the alleged assailant. But 75 Democrats voted for the resolution.

The resolution’s final line — where it “expresses gratitude to law enforcement officers, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, for protecting the homeland” — is coming back to haunt some House Democrats in tight races.

The latest example is in the Michigan Senate race. On Saturday, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow slammed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) because “she signed onto a resolution to thank ICE.” Shortly after McMorrow’s comments at an American Federation of Teachers forum, Stevens’ campaign updated its “red box” guidance to encourage outside groups to provide backup on her position with ICE.

“Democratic primary voters need to know immediately that Haley Stevens is leading the fight against Trump’s abuses of power and fighting for Michigan,” the message reads, with the word “immediately” underlined.

Stevens spokesperson Arik Wolk argued Stevens has been “fighting back against ICE and Trump’s abuses of power since the start of this administration.”

A similar dynamic is playing out in the Minnesota Senate Democratic primary between Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.). Craig’s vote for the Laken Riley Act has become a major sticking point, in addition to Craig’s support for the Boulder resolution.

At a weekend rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Flanagan slammed Craig for when “she broke with Democrats again to join Republicans as the only Democrat from Minnesota to vote to praise ICE while they were in the streets of Los Angeles separating families.”

Craig has said the resolution was intended to be a “gotcha” vote by the GOP but she nevertheless supported it to show her concern over the rising wave of anti-semitism.

Juliana Stratton, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Illinois, also criticized her primary opponent — Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) — for supporting the Boulder resolution, saying he “voted to thank ICE.” Stratton’s allies used this messaging on the airwaves.

The vote is even playing a role in House races. Former Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) is citing Rep. April McClain Delaney’s (D-Md.) vote for the Boulder resolution as he tries to primary the incumbent from the left.

“What I voted on was the resolution about Boulder, Colo., and throwing a Molotov cocktail and maiming and killing people in front of a synagogue,” McClain Delaney said. “But no, we don’t thank ICE for all the things they’ve done, and this was before ICE became ICE. So, it’s just disingenuous.”