Bill O’Reilly says he can 'prove' the real reason Democrats want a government shutdown
WASHINGTON, DC: Conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly argued Friday that Democrats in Washington are intentionally delaying a government spending deal to weaken Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other Homeland Security efforts, saying he can prove what he called a ‘big lie’ about their motives.
O’Reilly made the claim during his ‘No Spin News’ program as the latest continuing resolution deadline looms and federal agencies face another potential shutdown.
Bill O’Reilly accuses Democrats of weakening ICE
O’Reilly contended that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are using immigration policy demands to delay the spending deal. “You know, we do this every two months, right?” O’Reilly said.
Bill O’Reilly exposes “The Big Lie” behind the Democrat claim that only 14% of ICE detainees are violent criminals.
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) February 12, 2026
“That is misleading in the extreme.”
Here are the “nonviolent crimes” that don’t fall under the 14%, according to Democrats.
• Drug trafficking
• All crimes of… pic.twitter.com/4fDrKpgV2x
“But here’s why they’re holding it up: because Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries really want to gut the Homeland Security apparatus and ICE in a specific way. They want to neutralize it so that Homeland Security will have a far more difficult time controlling undocumented migrants already in this country … OK, let me prove it to you.”
O’Reilly noted that Schumer and Jeffries want certain conditions around ICE enforcement before they agree to continue funding the operation, including no masks for officers, judicial warrants for detainees, no enforcement near hospitals, schools, or churches, and body cameras for agents.
He also noted that masks have already been adjudicated in California – “a federal judge says ICE agents can wear masks” – that judicial warrants for “15 million illegal aliens” would be impossible, and that no-go zones “means in a city you could not have any enforcement.”
Bill O’Reilly claims Democrats push immigration amnesty
“So the rational conclusion about all these demands is the Democratic Party doesn’t want any enforcement,” O’Reilly concluded.
“They just don’t. They want amnesty. But that has been the position of the Democratic Party for decades, amnesty. Anybody here who’s not a criminal should be allowed to stay. But now it’s ‘violent criminal.’ This is the big lie. You ready for the big lie? Here it comes.”
O’Reilly noted that the Democratic talking point circulating is that only 14% of migrants detained by ICE are violent criminals, then rolled video examples of commentators, including radio host Leslie Marshall, making the claim.
O’Reilly said the federal government’s own statistics show that 60% of undocumented people detained by Homeland Security have committed some kind of criminal offense. “That is probably true,” he added.
“Now, a criminal offense could be not showing up for a hearing. It could be a lot of things. But if you are here illegally, you have snuck in or overstayed your visa, and you commit any crime, any crime, out of here. Right? OK. So that’s what we’re dealing with here, a massive deception. And the press picks it up and runs.”
