Casar, Thompson, Jayapal, Democratic Members of Congress demand accountability and change with ICE<\/p>\n
AUSTIN, TEXAS \u2013 On Thursday, October 15th,\u00a0Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas), alongside Representatives\u00a0Bennie G. Thompson\u00a0(D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and\u00a0Pramila Jayapal\u00a0(D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, and five other members of Congress held a field hearing to investigate the numerous ICE shootings across Texas, including the recent shooting of Wilber Garc\u00e9s-P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n
Representatives Greg Casar, Bennie G. Thompson, and Pramila Jayapal were joined by Representatives Troy A. Carter, Sr. (LA-02),\u00a0Lou Correa (CA-46),\u00a0Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07),\u00a0Sylvia Garcia\u00a0(TX-29), and\u00a0Al Green (TX-09).<\/p>\n
The Members of Congress were joined by witnesses\u00a0Ms. Rachel Reyes,\u00a0mother of Ruben Ray Martinez,\u00a0Kristin Etter,\u00a0Director of Policy & Legal Services at the Texas Immigration Law Council,\u00a0Carolina Rivera Nelson, Attorney at the ACLU of Texas, and\u00a0Danny Woodward, Policy Attorney with Texas Civil Rights Project.<\/p>\n
\u201cTexas has become the epicenter of Trump\u2019s deadly deportation machine, so we brought Members of Congress from across the country to Austin to see it firsthand,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas). \u201cICE shot Wilber Garc\u00e9s-P\u00e9rez, a DoorDash driver and a father, in the back then denied him medical care. They even tried to deport him so he could never speak the truth. Donald Trump’s ICE isn’t going after the worst of the worst \u2014 it’s gone after people like Wilber, who have no criminal record. We will fight to hold the perpetrators in this administration accountable, and not provide another dime in funding to this rogue agency.”<\/p>\n
\u201cDemocrats came to Austin today to demand justice and accountability for Wilber Garc\u00e9s-P\u00e9rez and the others that have been shot by immigration agents in Texas. If Republicans refuse to conduct any oversight of the Trump administration, we must do so in their place,\u201d added Congressman Bennie G. Thompson. \u201cWhat we heard today was powerful and informative. Make no mistake: we will do everything possible to hold this administration accountable for what it is doing. This violence, lawlessness, and chaos in our communities must end.\u201d
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\u201cTwenty-five days ago, ICE agents in Austin, Texas shot Wilber Garc\u00e9s-P\u00e9rez in the back. Instead of taking him to the hospital, they locked him up in a detention center and did not allow him to have surgery for 11 days. This is not the most recent shooting by ICE, and is one of nearly a dozen that we know of since Trump returned to office,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. \u201cICE is a lawless, rogue agency that is causing generational trauma in communities across the country. House Democrats today are doing the oversight work that Republicans refuse to do \u2014 and we will continue to do everything possible to protect our communities from Trump\u2019s mass deportation agenda.\u201d
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“The shooting and medical neglect of Wilber Rafael Garc\u00e9s P\u00e9rez follows the many other cases that have become synonymous with cities being swarmed with masked, armed federal agents and the nation\u2019s dangerous descent into tyranny: Ren\u00e9e Nicole Good, Alex Pretti, Johan Sebastian Guerrero, and too many others. No life is meaningless, and each individual assaulted or killed by our immigration system is someone’s child, someone’s sibling, someone’s parent, and they all still belong here with us,\u201d\u00a0said Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. \u201cUnless you\u2019re Native American, we all come from somewhere else. The Trump immigration system is structured and staffed as a deportation machine that violates individuals’ constitutional rights. Democrats will fight for an immigration system that honors our history and sets forth a reasonable, compassionate path to citizenship.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump got elected on the promise to go after the \u201cworst of the worst.\u201d Instead, since January, federal immigration agents have detained over 500 U.S. citizens and killed at least three. ICE is arresting people with no criminal record to hit political quotas while cutting training and lowering hiring standards,\u201d\u00a0said Congressman Lou Correa.\u00a0\u201cThere is an urgent need for major reforms to keep our communities safe from violence. DHS was created to defend Americans against foreign terrorists. Instead, we have permanent residents and American citizens being shot by ICE agents in our streets.\u201d
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“In Texas, we have witnessed at least three ICE shootings since this administration began its aggressive, unprecedented enforcement actions,\u201d said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.\u00a0 \u201cPeople across our community in Houston are still reeling from the shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.\u00a0 Just last weekend, ICE agents ran over and gravely injured Miguel Parra Hernandez while pursuing someone else. ICE’s reckless and brutal actions are not only unprecedented, they’re unconstitutional.\u00a0 They are making us less safe, creating fear and danger for immigrants and citizens alike.\u00a0 This Republican-led Congress that has enabled this lawlessness has utterly failed Wilber Garc\u00e9s-P\u00e9rez, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Ruben Ray Martinez, and so many others.\u00a0 All Americans deserve better from our government, and that is why I joined Congressman Casar, Ranking Member Thompson, Congresswoman Jayapal, and my Democratic colleagues in Austin today to hear from some of the many people impacted, learn more, and demonstrate our commitment to bringing justice, accountability, and change.\u201d\u00a0
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\u201cTrump promised to go after the worst of the worst. But judging by what we\u2019re seeing across Texas and the country, that sounds more like ICE\u2019s recruitment strategy. People are being shot, injured, and killed by federal agents operating without basic law enforcement standards or accountability,\u201d\u00a0said Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia.\u00a0\u201cIn Houston, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed on his way to work. One hundred days later, his family still has no answers. Instead they\u2019ve been met with stonewalling and excuses. These families deserve the truth and justice, and we will not stop fighting until they get both.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo President is above the law, and no federal agency should be allowed to serve as judge, jury, prosecutor, and executioner while operating with impunity,\u201d said Congressman Al Green. \u201cUnder President Trump, ICE has been emboldened to use deadly force against people in our communities while the administration evades transparency and accountability, engaging in a cover-up. These shootings are not isolated incidents. They are part of a deeply troubling pattern of conduct that threatens the constitutional rights and lives of people in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n