Congressional Democrats plan to investigate reports that federal immigration agents unlawfully detained U.S. citizens and allegedly committed other civil rights violations, said Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
And, as part of their investigation, they plan to hold their first field hearing in Los Angeles.
A person familiar with the planning told Southern California News Group that a date for the L.A. hearing has not been set, but that it would have to wait until after the federal government shutdown is over.
Garcia, D-Long Beach, made the announcement about the field hearing alongside L.A. Mayor Karen Bass during a press conference at City Hall on Monday, Oct. 20, where they were joined by members of the L.A. City Council and immigration rights advocates.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, during a press conference with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other city officials and immigration rights advocates at L.A. City Hall on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, announced that congressional Democrats plan to investigate federal immigration-related detentions, following reports that over 170 U.S. citizens were detained since Jan. during immigration raids or protests.
“We want the community to come and share their stories of terror, share their stories of their family members that are being unjustly treated and so we can take account of every single harm that is being done,” Garcia said.
“Our message is clear: If you are out there and you are taking orders and committing these illegal actions, we are going to hold you accountable,” he added.
The latest outcry from Democrats follows a ProPublica report last week that there had been more than 170 instances this year in which federal agents detained a U.S. citizen during immigration raids or protests.
Bass vowed that she would stand up to protect residents of the nation’s second most populous city.
“Reports of Angelenos — U.S. citizens — being tased, dragged, and unlawfully detained should make us all concerned,” she said, adding “this is not just an assault on the people of Los Angeles – this is an assault on every person, in every city in this country.”
The congressional field hearing that will take place in L.A. will be a joint effort between Democrats in the House Oversight Committee and those in the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
Earlier Monday, Garcia and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a Democrat who is the ranking member of the Senate subcommittee that will also be involved in the investigation, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, inquiring about “the disturbing and increasingly frequent reports of unconstitutional detentions of U.S. citizens” by federal immigration and border patrol agents.
They requested information and records related to the detention of U.S. citizens since the start of President Donald Trump‘s second term in January.
In their letter, Garcia and Blumenthal said recent reports suggested there have been at least two dozen cases in which U.S. citizens were detained for over a day without access to a phone to speak with an attorney or loved ones.
In another case, they said, a U.S. citizen was detained in downtown L.A. by ICE agents for two days and deprived of water for 24 hours.
In addition, the lawmakers raised concerns of racial profiling and the targeting of more liberal communities.
“The impact of these arrests has not been evenly distributed across the country, and cities like Chicago, Portland, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have been targeted heavily by ICE and CBP,” they wrote in their letter to Noem. “Troublingly, the pattern of U.S. citizen arrests coincides with an alarming increase in racial profiling – particularly of Latinos – which has been well documented in Los Angeles.”
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, denied accusations that ICE has targeted U.S. citizens, made unconstitutional arrests or trampled on civil liberties. McLaughlin alleged those accusations have resulted in officers facing an increase in assaults on them.
“Allegations that DHS law enforcement engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless, and categorically false,” said McLaughlin. “What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — not their skin color, race or ethnicity.”
“Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests. The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question whether Mayor Bass or Rep. Garcia like it or not,” she added. “Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties or assaults law enforcement, including U.S. citizens, will of course face consequences which includes arrest.”
She went on to say that federal officers have arrested more than 7,000 “illegal aliens” in the L.A. area since June.