Jesus G. "Chuy" Garcia · TranslatePolitics.com

House of Representatives

Operation Midway Blitz Anniversary

2026-09-02

“I am sad that Raul Munoz died. He owned a restaurant. He helped people remember their culture.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Raul Munoz, a beloved community member, entrepreneur, and cultural steward whose work contributed to my community's gastronomic richness. Raul helped make Little Village the vibrant center of Mexican culture and community that we know today. He first became connected to Taquerias Atotonilco while delivering ingredients in the early 1970s, eventually purchasing the restaurant and ensuring its authentic flavors remain a part of 26th Street, cementing it as one of Little Village's most enduring institutions. Raul's legacy is more than his restaurant. It is about family, hard work, and the enduring connection between heritage and community. Raul showed that even when people leave their homeland, we never leave our culture behind. We carry it with us and root it in our communities just like Raul did. Mr. Speaker, my thoughts are with Raul's family and loved ones. May he rest in peace, and may his legacy live on in the community he helped build.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

“I don't like Trump or his policies. Immigration raids in Chicago were bad. Republicans are bad and mean.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of 1 year since the Federal Government under the Trump administration invaded Chicago, an American city, through Operation Midway Blitz. President Trump was elected promising to go after ``the worst of the worst,'' but what we saw in Chicago was a spree of violence committed by masked goons against nonviolent citizens who overwhelmingly had no criminal records. These Federal agents racially profiled people, pepper-sprayed neighborhoods, ripped families apart, and conducted military-style raids all to please much of the racist MAGA base. They did it all solely based on the color of a person's skin or the work they did: construction workers, landscapers, and street vendors like the beloved woman outside my district office who simply sold tamales. Then they held these people in appalling conditions at the Broadview ICE Processing Center and beat those who protested outside. ICE agents killed Silverio Villegas Gonzalez after he dropped his children off at school and then blatantly lied about it. Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez, a Montessori teacher, five times and bragged about it. All of this violence was brought on by their own government. It is shameful. Donald Trump and his top officials, including white supremacist Stephen Miller, tried to take our dignity and divide our community, but they failed. The people of Chicago organized. We armed ourselves with whistles, phones, and our U.S. Constitution. We looked after each other. Rapid response organizers kept the community informed. Volunteers organized walking groups and carpools to get our children safely to school. Churches and nonprofits delivered groceries for those who were afraid to leave their homes. In the face of this massive opposition, the Federal Government largely backed down. One year later, people in Chicago are stronger, but many remain fearful and traumatized. Many of these agents continue to operate with impunity and no respect for due process. However, efforts to hold these agents accountable are moving forward. These criminals cannot continue free and immune after the heinous acts they committed while working under DHS. Operation Midway Blitz serves as a tragic example of why DHS cannot be reformed. It is a rogue, lawless agency built to harm us. It must be dismantled, and in its place, we must rebuild an immigration system that keeps us safe and honors humanity. When Democrats take over Congress and ultimately the White House, we must act. It has been over 40 years since immigration reform, and we are seeing what that is doing and has done to communities under this administration. Communities like mine can no longer wait.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

House of Representatives

Honoring Lieutenant Colonel Rosemarie Guerrero

2026-07-23

“A military officer is retiring. She worked in cybersecurity. I think that is important. I want to praise her to look good.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lieutenant Colonel Rosemarie Guerrero of the United States National Guard as she retires after an extraordinary career dedicated to serving our Nation. Lieutenant Colonel Guerrero started her brilliant career in 1989, when she enlisted in the Illinois Air National Guard. In her current role as Cyber Warfare Branch Chief, she oversees a $205 million Cyber Mission Force portfolio and provides direct guidance on mobilization, training, resourcing, and posturing for the Air National Guard Cyber Mission Forces. At a time when the Pentagon faces more than 10 million cyber intrusion attempts every single day, her work defending our country against cyberattacks has never been more important. Mr. Speaker, I thank Lieutenant Colonel Guerrero for her decades of leadership, sacrifice, and service. I wish her a happy and well- deserved retirement.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

House of Representatives

Honoring Beatrice Lumpkin

2026-07-14

“I want to celebrate a jazz and arts center in my district. It's called HotHouse. They've been around for 40 years. HotHouse hosts music and arts events. They bring arts to communities in my district. The center closed its building in 2007. But HotHouse still organizes events in Chicago. HotHouse won some awards. I congratulate HotHouse. I hope they keep bringing arts to my district.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the HotHouse Center for International Performance and Exhibition, popularly known in Chicago as the HotHouse. The HotHouse is known for its programming of jazz and world music concerts, multi-disciplinary events, and focus on creating opportunities for artistic practices and performances. HotHouse has taken the arts into underserved communities, fostering the international exchange of ideas, and serving as a central meeting place for a variety of community groups. While their physical location at Balbo Avenue closed in July of 2007, the current board continues organizing and programming around Chicagoland. Over the years, HotHouse has been awarded with many of the top honors in the arts and culture industry, including Best of Chicago, Chicagoan of the Year, and The Abbey, all reflecting its lasting impact in our region. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the HotHouse on this incredible milestone, and I wish the organization many more years of success.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

“I want to honor Tony Ortiz. He led a school in my district for 16 years. The students there don't have much money. Now our community has a good school. Tony Ortiz built a good school for our community. I thank him for that.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Antonio ``Tony'' Ortiz, who recently concluded 26 years of dedicated service at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, including 16 years as president. For 30 years, Cristo Rey has transformed lives by providing a Catholic college preparatory education, integrated with professional work experience. Today, the school serves students who are 100 percent bilingual, 90 percent first generation, with a median family income of $43,000. Cristo Rey has nearly 3,000 alumni, 15 of whom now work at the school. Tony's greatest accomplishment is the culture he built that proudly reflects the strength of my district. The vast majority of students, alumni, faculty, and staff live and maintain deep ties to the Fourth District of Illinois, making the school a strong pillar of the surrounding community. Under Tony Ortiz's leadership, Cristo Rey Jesuit has become a model of educational excellence nationwide, and his vision has helped the school grow into a national network of more than 40 schools, serving over 13,000 students across the country each day. Mr. Speaker, I thank Tony Ortiz for his remarkable service and wish him all the best in the years ahead. He has left a lasting legacy in our community.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

“Bea Lumpkin was a union organizer and activist. She did a lot for workers and civil rights. I am sad she died.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the remarkable life and work of Beatrice ``Bea'' Lumpkin, a union organizer, workers' rights activist, academic, and writer who passed away on June 14 at the age of 107 years. Bea was a fierce defender of working-class people and an active fighter for civil rights. She was called by some the rock of the labor movement, because she grounded us and taught us how to stay committed to the search for justice and equity for those without power. Bea marched along with Dr. Martin Luther King in Chicago and was an ally of the Black Panther Party. She was present at every key moment of our labor and civil rights movement for nearly 90 years, up to the recent No Kings marches. Her engagement with the movement began with a factory job when she was 14 years old. She helped organize the Metal and Machinery Workers Industrial Union, a part of the newly formed Congress of Industrial Organizations. Her persistence and determination were best exemplified when Wisconsin Steel, the plant her husband, Frank, worked at, abruptly closed and 3,400 workers lost their jobs. For 17 years, the Lumpkins led a successful fight for those workers to receive back pay. As recently as 2024, Bea was focused on intergenerational work with youth activists and joined the Starbucks workers as they began organizing. As a retiree, she expanded her activism on issues such as climate justice, the rights of retired workers, and consumer protection against overcharges from utility companies. Mr. Speaker, Bea believed our job is to make the world a better place. She found joy in the work she did and inspired others, including me, to continue fighting. The labor movement has lost a giant. Rest in power, Bea Lumpkin.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗