Jimmy Gomez, CA
Linked statement
“Immigration agents have become violent and reckless, and two fathers were recently killed. Republicans keep giving them more money instead of holding them accountable. I want us to stop funding these abuses, take money away from ICE, and prosecute officers who break the law.”
“Mr. Speaker, 13 months ago, when Trump’s immigration raids began in my district, I warned exactly where this was headed. I warned that if ICE agents were allowed to operate without accountability, the violence would escalate. I warned that people would die. I didn’t want to be right, but here we are. This isn’t normal. This isn’t law enforcement. This is lawlessness: no due process and no Miranda rights. Instead, some in Trump’s ICE are acting as judge, jury, and executioner. This is what happens when people who wear the badge are told that rules don’t apply to them. Over the last year, we witnessed ICE become more violent, more reckless, and more deadly. We witnessed masked agents jump out of unmarked vehicles. We witnessed people tackled, beaten, and shot. We have even seen children used as bait to detain their parents. What has this administration done? What have congressional Republicans done? Not a darn thing: no accountability, no transparency, and no consequences. Last week, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo left work and never came home. His son, Ronaldo, said something every Member of this Chamber should hear: ``He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of `Mexican man shot and killed by ICE.’ He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father, and a job creator.’’ Then, yesterday, a little girl in Maine watched her father’s lifeless body being carried away by ICE. Think about that, Mr. Speaker: two fathers and two families are shattered. In both cases, ICE wasn’t even targeting the men who died. ICE claims these men used their vehicles as weapons, but local news video tells a different story. It shows unmarked vehicles following them. It shows what happens before the shootings. It shows that ICE wasn’t wearing body cameras, despite its own policies. This administration is asking Americans not to believe our own eyes over and over again. That is not acceptable. What is even more unacceptable is that my Republican colleagues have watched this happen and responded by giving ICE billions more dollars. How many more families have to bury a loved one before Republicans admit that something is deeply wrong? The truth is they know it is wrong. They are just too afraid to say it. They are too afraid of Donald Trump and too afraid of political consequences. I know, and they know, where this leads. When these raids began in Los Angeles, I flew immediately back from Washington to conduct oversight and protect my communities. When the Trump administration tried to block me from inspecting ICE detention centers, I sued them and won. I have trained legal observers to document ICE abuses, organized townhalls, and introduced legislation to reclaim Trump’s $175 billion ICE slush fund and put it into housing. Every Representative here has a choice. They can keep writing blank checks for fear and abuse, or they can join us in saying enough--enough lawlessness, enough brutality, and enough deaths. We warned this country what would happen. We warned that, without accountability, violence would escalate. We warned that people would die. Now, hear this warning: If you committed a crime, if you violated the Constitution, if you thought your badge put you above the law, you are wrong. We are watching. The American people are watching. History is watching. No matter who you are or the title you hold, you will be prosecuted. Accountability is coming.”
Mr. Speaker, 13 months ago, when Trump’s immigration raids began in my district, I warned exactly where this was headed. I warned that if ICE agents were allowed to operate without accountability, the violence would escalate. I warned that people would die. I didn’t want to be right, but here we are. This isn’t normal. This isn’t law enforcement. This is lawlessness: no due process and no Miranda rights. Instead, some in Trump’s ICE are acting as judge, jury, and executioner. This is what happens when people who wear the badge are told that rules don’t apply to them. Over the last year, we witnessed ICE become more violent, more reckless, and more deadly. We witnessed masked agents jump out of unmarked vehicles. We witnessed people tackled, beaten, and shot. We have even seen children used as bait to detain their parents. What has this administration done? What have congressional Republicans done? Not a darn thing: no accountability, no transparency, and no consequences. Last week, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo left work and never came home. His son, Ronaldo, said something every Member of this Chamber should hear: ``He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of `Mexican man shot and killed by ICE.’ He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father, and a job creator.’’ Then, yesterday, a little girl in Maine watched her father’s lifeless body being carried away by ICE. Think about that, Mr. Speaker: two fathers and two families are shattered. In both cases, ICE wasn’t even targeting the men who died. ICE claims these men used their vehicles as weapons, but local news video tells a different story. It shows unmarked vehicles following them. It shows what happens before the shootings. It shows that ICE wasn’t wearing body cameras, despite its own policies. This administration is asking Americans not to believe our own eyes over and over again. That is not acceptable. What is even more unacceptable is that my Republican colleagues have watched this happen and responded by giving ICE billions more dollars. How many more families have to bury a loved one before Republicans admit that something is deeply wrong? The truth is they know it is wrong. They are just too afraid to say it. They are too afraid of Donald Trump and too afraid of political consequences. I know, and they know, where this leads. When these raids began in Los Angeles, I flew immediately back from Washington to conduct oversight and protect my communities. When the Trump administration tried to block me from inspecting ICE detention centers, I sued them and won. I have trained legal observers to document ICE abuses, organized townhalls, and introduced legislation to reclaim Trump’s $175 billion ICE slush fund and put it into housing. Every Representative here has a choice. They can keep writing blank checks for fear and abuse, or they can join us in saying enough--enough lawlessness, enough brutality, and enough deaths. We warned this country what would happen. We warned that, without accountability, violence would escalate. We warned that people would die. Now, hear this warning: If you committed a crime, if you violated the Constitution, if you thought your badge put you above the law, you are wrong. We are watching. The American people are watching. History is watching. No matter who you are or the title you hold, you will be prosecuted. Accountability is coming.