Fatal ICE Shootings Public Forum - Family Testimony, Eyewitness Accounts & Congressional Questions - September 22, 2026

Sen. Richard Blumenthal15:55On investigation, I call this Spotlight Forum to order and welcome Representative Garcia, the ranking member of the Committee on Oversight in the House, and my colleagues Senator Padilla and Senator Hassan, thank you for being here.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal16:14My apologies for being a little bit late. I actually consider myself fortunate to be here after a fairly rough travel day coming down and sorry that we're a little bit late in starting. We're here essentially because nothing has changed at ICE.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal16:36There's been no accountability, there has been no real investigation of of the deaths and injuries that ICE has caused across the country in Los Angeles, Chicago, and in Connecticut's towns and cities, most prominently Danbury.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal17:02We're here because the rule of law still matters in the United States. Congress must hold ICE accountable. My preference would have been that this forum would be a formal hearing jointly by our committees and that it would be bipartisan Unfortunately our colleagues on the other side seem to have no real interest in accountability or the rule of law when it comes to ICE But the American people do The American people are disgusted by what they've seen in American streets and neighborhoods.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal17:50and I want to begin simply by saying to the American people we will hold ICE accountable and this this forum which should be a formal hearing is only the beginning as you know we've held a number of hearings already spotlighting the blatant illegalities on ICE's part, and the need for leadership.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal18:27And there was hope when Mark Wayne Mullins was appointed to this job. There was hope that ICE would change. There was hope that it would abandon the physical brutality and inhumanity of its tactics.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal18:48on the streets. There was hope that there would be accountability. That hope has been dashed. Most recently, just days ago, in Austin, Texas, and almost as recently in Danbury, Connecticut, where ICE agents seized parents after they dropped their kids off for school bus or drag them from their cars on their way to work, the same basic tactics as we have seen before.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal19:27But let's begin this forum also by paying tribute to our witnesses who have come here reliving the grief and pain of their experiences and their loved ones. Ruben Ray Martinez, Renee Nicole Mackling-Good, Alex Preddy, Lorenzo Salgado Arojo, Johan Sebastian Duran, Guerrero, Silverio, Villegas, Gonzalez.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal20:06These names are not abstract, hypothetical beings. They are individuals who were shot and killed by DHS agents since the beginning of the Trump administration. They were sons, daughters, fathers, husbands, wives, friends, loved ones.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal20:29they had full and meaningful lives. They were lives cut short by senseless cruelty. From the Texas coast to Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, up to Biddleford, Maine, these lives did not need to be taken so cruelly.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal20:44And today we honor and remember those loved ones, even as we demand justice and accountability. It has been 556 days since Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed by an ICE agent, even though his family was not told who was responsible until nearly a year later.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal21:07That is not the America that I recognize. That is not the American justice system that we believe in. It has been 258 days since federal immigration agents shot and killed Renee Nicole Macklin-Good, leaving three children without their mother.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal21:32It has been 241 days since Alex Preddy was shot and killed after trying to help another person up, after agents pushed them to the ground, after all those horrific deaths and public outcry, We were told that DHS was going to change.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal21:50We were told it would be more restrained agency. We were told it would cut down on violence. Again and again, those promises were proven false. But perhaps most egregiously to me, as a former law enforcement person who was attorney general for 20 years and US attorney for four and a half years, there has been no real investigation of those deaths There has been no FBI real investigation State and local authorities have been stymied and stopped in their effort to investigate.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal22:35ICE has withheld and concealed evidence, the failure to investigate is obvious and deeply wrong and shameful for the federal government. On July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Arroyo, a father and husband, was shot and killed by ICE agents while on his way to work in Houston.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal23:10and just five days later, Johann Sebastian Geron Guerrero was murdered in Maine, leaving behind a wife and three-year-old daughter. And yet, just two days ago, another man was shot by ICE as he was working in Austin, Texas.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal23:28His name is Wilbur Rafael Garces Perez. And thankfully, he's still alive. His family is not yet grieving, but he is in pain, apparently denied painkillers with a bullet lodged in his back. The fact is we are all Minneapolis, we are all Texas, we're all Chicago, we're all Biddleford, we are all Danbury.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal23:59We need a better America if it's reflected in what ICE does. So after this continued violence, every community in America should be asking itself, how long will it be until ICE is in our city with the same kind of mass arrests and tactics and sweeps and violence and brutality?

Sen. Richard Blumenthal24:25How long will it be until we have a grieving family, until another loss of life is felt? Today, we bear witness to the costs of this inhumanity. Today's forum gives these witnesses as the voice and face of this challenge, the accountability that must begin in this country.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal24:52We're gonna continue to demand not just answers and accountability but actual change real change real action from this administration And on behalf of all of us I again would like to just offer the witnesses here their families and their communities, our heartfelt condolences, our thanks, and our admiration for your courage and strength.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal25:19I turn to my colleague, Representative Garcia.

25:22Thank you.

Rep. Robert Garcia25:23Thank you, Senator Blumenthal. And thank you for co-leading this really important effort. We've had multiple hearings on the abuses of ICE. I want to thank our colleagues, but especially also want to thank our members that are here that are not a part of our committee, but such an important part of the communities that have been impacted, and also great leaders in the Congress as it relates to this issue and to our Senate colleagues.

Rep. Robert Garcia25:45Thank you for all your incredible work. I want to just start by just to all of you, thank you for your immense courage. I know this is really hard. I know that there is anger, a real hurt.

Rep. Robert Garcia26:02The loss is unimaginable. And I'm deeply sorry for what you all continue to go through every single day. And I just am so honored to be able to hear the stories of these incredible people and know that we're going to work every single day to bring justice to each of you and to the families that have suffered this immense loss.

Rep. Robert Garcia26:30Our goal here is justice and change, and that's why I want to thank you for being here. We are here to take your testimony and to document the crimes and the misconduct of Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, and this administration.

Rep. Robert Garcia26:52Trump's ICE and DHS are completely out of control. Now, we have in the past documented how Kristi Noem lied when she said they weren't arresting American citizens. That's a lie. How U.S. veterans weren't being targeted.

Rep. Robert Garcia27:07That was a lie. We've seen our own veterans beaten, assaulted, held without knowing where they were. We've heard how immigration enforcement officers have brutalized, beat, blinded, and killed Americans, let alone what they doing to people that are here just working and trying to live a better life We heard how Border Patrol agents shot an unarmed American citizen and bragged about this to his fellow agents We heard how Trump immigration agents have traumatized children, broken up families, violated the constitution again and again.

Rep. Robert Garcia27:42And we've heard heartbreaking stories that should shock every single American. The reality is that ICE and DHS are operating like Donald Trump's private personal army. They're attacking communities, they're targeting people who are just trying to live and exercising their constitutional rights.

Rep. Robert Garcia28:06And the results are all around us. We have heard in our past few hearings testimony from teachers, veterans, working people, folks who have been arrested oftentimes with zero justification and a complete violation of their rights.

Rep. Robert Garcia28:21Now as of September 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats have documented over 1,000 credible and verified instances and abuses led by these two men, the President and Stephen Miller. You've heard in the past and you will again today, some horrific accounts of the abuse of ICE and in these cases with the worst, most possible outcome.

Rep. Robert Garcia28:56Chaos has been brought to American streets by these agents, and certainly heartbreak has been to all of you, been a real factor in your lives since what's happened to your family members. Now, Donald Trump and Stephen Miller are trying to illegally use their police force, ICE, to smash down the doors of the American people and take away people's rights.

Rep. Robert Garcia29:22This is not just about mass deportations, what they have also done. They're trying to attack folks who are even standing up to the abuses by ICE and DHS. Innocent people have been thrown to the ground, arrested, taken without notice, attacked in some cases.

Rep. Robert Garcia29:40We're gonna hear some awful accounts today, but also important ones for the American public to hear. And I know these are all people that you all love very much. And I think it's heartbreaking to see the images and the stories, but A reminder to the American public that the lives that the folks led are going to continue to have meaning.

Rep. Robert Garcia30:03Their lives have legacy. They are going to make change in this country. They're going to make the lives of other people across this country and the world better. On March 15th, 2025, Homeland Security fatally shot Ruben Ray Martinez.

Rep. Robert Garcia30:26is. Horrific. On January 7, 2026, ICE fatally shot Renee Good. On January 24, 2026, Border Patrol shot and killed Alex Preddy. On July 7, 2026, Lorenzo Arojo was shot and killed by an ICE officer.

Rep. Robert Garcia30:58And on July 13, 2026, an ICE officer shot and killed Johan Guerrero, which we have up here. We remember all of them. We honor their lives. And we know that DHS hasn't just stopped here.

Rep. Robert Garcia31:16On Sunday, ICE shot and seriously wounded Wilbur Perez in Austin, Texas. an asylum seeker and delivery driver. And according to his lawyer, after being beaten and sent to the hospital, he was discharged with a bullet still lodged into his body.

Rep. Robert Garcia31:35Now this investigation, of course, is in its early stages. But there's no question that ICE continues to terrorize this country. Now each of these incidents is horrific. And our plan is to hold anyone accountable that was involved.

Rep. Robert Garcia31:52And what's very important is it's not just the president and Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem that should be held accountable. It should also be the ICE agents themselves that committed these horrific acts, killings, and harm.

Rep. Robert Garcia32:11We're here to fight for accountability and for the rights of all people. We need body cameras. We need real warrant processes for judges. We need aggressive, comprehensive independent investigations We need criminal prosecutions And most importantly we need justice for our witnesses here today Thank you to Senator Blumenthal and thank you all again for your testimony today Thanks Representative Garcia I will now introduce the witnesses and I should apologize in advance

Sen. Richard Blumenthal32:42because these are very abbreviated introductions that emphasize what you have lost. Each of you is an individual with impressive accomplishments and a lifetime of contributions to your communities. But the reason you're here is to talk about loved ones you've lost.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal33:06And so, Rachel Reyes, thank you for being here. I know that you're the mother of Ruben Ray Martinez, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent. In South Padre Island, Texas in March 2025, Mr. Martinez was the first United States citizen murdered by ICE during the second Trump administration, although that fact was not disclosed to his family or to the public for nearly a year.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal33:28Donna Ganger is the mother of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by a CBP officer in Minneapolis this past January. Brent Ganger is Ms. Good's younger brother and previously addressed our committee this past February, just weeks after her death.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal33:53Stella Carson is a dedicated community member from Minneapolis who witnessed and recorded the fatal shooting of Alex Preddy last January. Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado are the sons of Lorenzo Salgado Arroyo, who was killed by ICE agents while on his way to work to Houston this past July.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal34:14Sean Murphy is an attorney who represents the family of Johann Sebastian Duran Guerrero, who was killed by an ICE agent in Biddleford, Maine on July 13 of this year. We'll begin with you, Ms. Martinez.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal34:35Thank you.

Rachel Reyes34:38My name is Rachel Reyes. I reside in San Antonio, Texas, and I am the mother of Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old U citizen In March 2025 Ruben was killed by a federal agent The pain and grief of losing a child is something no parent should have to ever endure Ruben was also a loving brother, uncle, nephew, and friend.

Rachel Reyes35:12He was kind, funny, and full of life, always making others smile. He had a good heart and was raised to respect everyone, especially people in authority. He had no criminal history. His death came nearly a year before the names of other victims would go on to become national headlines, yet far fewer people know his name.

Rachel Reyes35:34For months we were dismissed and denied access to reports, statements, and video evidence, while being told only that the case was under investigation. We were expected to accept a narrative that contradicted the account of the passenger witness, his lifelong best friend Joshua Orta.

Rachel Reyes35:51Knowing Ruben's harmless nature, nothing made sense. The months that followed were consumed by grief and frustration. We felt unheard, left without answers, knowing Ruben's death was unjust. Ruben's story should resonate with people because he was doing something so ordinary, spending time with a friend.

Rachel Reyes36:23He wasn't out causing trouble or harm to anyone. On March 15, 2025, Ruben and his best friend Joshua took a spontaneous trip to South Padre Island, Ruben's first trip away from home without family.

Rachel Reyes36:39While returning from getting food, they encountered officers alongside federal agents redirecting traffic due to an unrelated traffic accident. Video released nearly a year later confirmed the account of Josh, consistently told me, attorneys, and law enforcement before his passing.

Rachel Reyes36:59In the video, I saw Ruben driving slowly, allowing pedestrians to pass, and asking the first officer he encounters for guidance. He was not pulled over for any violation. The officer told him to keep going, motioning with his flashlight.

Rachel Reyes37:16Ruben followed that directive. Seconds later as Ruben drove ahead a different officer yelled a conflicting command That aggressive yelling and contradiction created chaos and within seconds officers began converging around Ruben car Sorry That level of hostility would overwhelm anyone with fear and make the moment impossible for anyone to process.

Rachel Reyes37:48Moments later, my son was killed. In the video, I saw the car turn slowly, move several feet, and stop again. In those few seconds, HSI agent Jack Stevens fired three rounds through the open driver's side window without any warning and no body camera.

Rachel Reyes38:10The bullets pierced Ruben's heart and lungs. His last words were, I'm sorry, sir. At this point, Ruben had placed his car in park himself. In the video, I do not see Ruben posing any immediate danger.

Rachel Reyes38:25He was moving slowly. His brake lights were on. He was not trying to weaponize his vehicle. I don't see him intentionally accelerating to strike or run over anyone. He was not fleeing. Never confrontational.

Rachel Reyes38:40He was trying to comply. No other agents present drew their weapons or took a firing stance, an indication to me that they did not see Ruben as a threat. To add further devastation, after Ruben was shot, he was thrown face down on the pavement, knee to his back and handcuffed while incapacitated, his limp body bleeding out, clearly not resisting.

Rachel Reyes39:09I watched several agents standing around him talking as if he was just a body to be handled and not a life to be protected. It's deeply distressing to know that Ruben's final moments were consumed by confusion, fear, pain, and disregard for his life.

Rachel Reyes39:31Though the circumstances surrounding his death and these other victims are distinctly different, the pattern is the same. Lives cut short by the same agency. agents without body cameras, no warnings, no attempt to deescalate, excessive force followed by deflection, and a lack of accountability after the fact.

Rachel Reyes39:54Other similarities are that these victims, despite being nonviolent community members with no criminal background, were disparaged and blamed to shift focus away from the officer's misconduct. What happened to my son is personal, but it should be a concern for us all.

Rachel Reyes40:11His death reflects a pattern of callousness and power imbalance that allows rights to be violated without consequence. The very conduct our Constitution was meant to prevent. This is not a partisan issue. trust in our government is foundational and right now that trust is broken.

Rachel Reyes40:26No family should have to beg for answers while mourning a loved one or at the worst moment in their lives endure additional harm caused by our own government's actions. Meaningful reform is necessary. Real accountability requires independent oversight not secretive internal reviews that protect institutions instead of people.

Rachel Reyes40:52Thank you.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal40:56Thank you, Ms. Rays. Ms. Ganger.

Donna Ganger41:09Ranking Member Blumenthal, Ranking Member

Sen. Richard Blumenthal41:12Garcia. You need to turn on your...

Donna Ganger41:15Closer? Okay. Ranking member Blumenthal, ranking member Garcia, and distinguished members of Congress. Can you hear me? Okay.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal41:26I'm not sure your microphone is working.

Donna Ganger41:31Okay.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal41:33Maybe if you move a little bit closer.

Donna Ganger41:37My name is Donna Ganger. That's better. I am Renee Good's mama. I want to express my deepest condolences to all the other families here today. I know the pain you're in. The frustration and the helplessness, but also the hope that America can still do the right thing on behalf of our loved ones.

Donna Ganger42:05I'm here alongside my oldest son, Brent, on behalf of our large family. members of Congress we need your help what I want most to do today is to help everyone understand exactly what was taken from us on January 7th what a beautiful woman our family and this country lost we have not moved on We struggle every day We will never ever be the same It is difficult to balance our gratitude for what a lovely soul Renee was, with the anger and confusion at the violent way she died and the total insanity of it all.

Donna Ganger42:50She should still be alive. I'll say that again, my daughter should still be alive. I long to give Renee big hugs so many times during the day. And that sadness is multiplied by watching our entire family grieve their own losses of Renee as mom, sister, daughter, aunt, and partner.

Donna Ganger43:18This is unthinkable pain for all of us. And why? For what? All the beautiful and joyful things Renee would have done with her life are now simply silence. At Renee's celebration of life service, I told the story of Renee's childhood.

Donna Ganger43:38I'd like to share one with you today. Excuse me. One day, baby Brent and I and Renee walked over to the elementary school to pick up her sister Annie from kindergarten. On the way home, Renee struck up a conversation with a total stranger.

Donna Ganger43:59She was about three years old. After we moved on, Renee remembered that she really wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. And she turned around and she looked at us and she said, it was a good thing you were with me.

Donna Ganger44:14Yes, it was. As a parent, it is our instinct and our honor to protect our children. Fast forward to today, and it's torture that as a mom and as a family, we could not protect Renee.

Donna Ganger44:28But no one can protect against others who are determined to disregard our country's constitutional rules and values. That is what happened on January 7th. Our family is a very American blend. We vote differently, but we love each other deeply.

Donna Ganger44:47I'm a registered Republican. I voted for President Trump under the impression that these agents were here to protect the citizens of the United States innocents like our family and the others here against terrorists certainly not to accuse those of us here of being terrorists and take precious lives.

Donna Ganger45:10This is madness. But far more than being a Republican, I'm a Christian. Jesus teaches us to forgive, and I have. But what we're asking for and deserve is accountability, change. Our family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support from the community of Minneapolis, from people across the country, and from around the world.

Donna Ganger45:35The prayers and the words of support have truly brought us comfort. It is meaningful that these statements have come from people of all colors, all faiths, and all ideals. That's the perfect reflection of Renee.

Donna Ganger45:43But The thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need action. We need accountability. We need this never ever to happen again and destroy another family or a community. I'd like now to have Brent talk more about our family's commitment to accountability.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal46:12Thank you very much.

Brent Ganger46:14Brent. Ranking Member Blumenthal, Ranking Member Garcia, Distinguished Members of Congress. My name is Brent Ganger. I'm the brother of Renee Good. I want to thank you for allowing me another opportunity to talk about Renee and express my concern surrounding her completely senseless killing, as well as my increasing disappointment at the lack of change and accountability.

Brent Ganger46:42I share my mother's condolences for all here today who have lost a loved one and have of them taken from them by agents of our own federal government. Our family has waited, our country has waited, and we will not wait any longer.

Brent Ganger46:56The time is absolutely now for accountability for the deep damage done by ICE and others. We will not be quiet, and we will not go away. The blatant violation of constitutional values and rights we have witnessed has been an epic overreach and an assault on human decency and the rule of law.

Brent Ganger47:16I struggled writing these remarks because Renee was the one who would edit my writing and give me encouragement She made you feel like no matter what you were doing you could do so fearlessly because she had your back.

Brent Ganger47:35The hole in my family and myself created by my sister's passing is hauntingly apparent. Disbelief of her passing has turned into daily reminders about what we have lost. Renee was the first and loudest person to root for you.

Brent Ganger47:46Renee exuded light, and that light has been extinguished. We cannot unsee the video how violently she was taken from us. In the days since my sister's death, ICE agents have continued to intimidate, assault, hurt, and kill innocent people.

Brent Ganger48:07Since Renee's death, no meaningful changes occurred, and judging by the lack of attendance by her counterparts across the aisle, none seems to be planned. Deaths of innocent Americans by taxpayer-funded government agents should not be a partisan issue.

Brent Ganger48:21and should alarm every American. During the recent remembrance of 9-11, I was reflecting on the way our country united and took care of one another, leaned on our neighbors, respected those who helped others.

Brent Ganger48:34Sometimes it takes extraordinary circumstances to bring out the best in us. I keep waiting for that to happen now. Renee and I like to discuss literature and one of my favorites that I always come back to is Dr.

Brent Ganger48:54Martin Luther King's letter from Birmingham jail. Excuse me. I find it endlessly eloquent and ever relevant. Dr. King's grace to convey his frustrations while wrongly incarcerated is hard to fathom. He rightfully claimed that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Brent Ganger49:15I believe those words are equally applicable now. I assure you I do not make that reference lightly. In the same letter, Dr. King spoke of his disappointment in the white moderate, referring to well-meaning white citizens and his fellow white clergymen.

Brent Ganger49:29I'm ashamed to say that I was a part of this generation's white moderates. I in no way condone the actions of this administration or these federal agents but I also took no direct action to object to the senseless abuse I saw.

Brent Ganger49:44Until my sister was killed, my family felt safe and had no urgency to be a part of the change and stand next to our fellow human beings during their unjustified persecution. I deeply regret that it took the death of Renee to wake me up to the fact that no one in this country is untouchable.

Brent Ganger50:00Many people feel as though they are safe. My family had the unfortunate privilege of learning the hard way through the loss of our beloved Renee that no one is safe while ICE continues to terrorize us.

Brent Ganger50:10It has taken far too long for white people like me to know what it feels like to not feel safe in this country. Our brothers and sisters of color have always had to fight to feel safe on the streets and many for good reasons still don't.

Brent Ganger50:28cannot continue to be allowed to act with endless impunity and without accountability. You've heard from my mother that she is Republican and I consider myself moderate. We have other family members who lean more to the left.

Brent Ganger50:39I speak to all members of Congress, even those not here today, and I hope they're listening. Our family proves that even in the darkest of times, we should stay united. We expect nothing less from the leaders of this country and in Congress.

Brent Ganger50:59I urge each of you to find a common-sense solution to the problem of accountability for federal officers. There should not be a different set of rules and a different process to hold a federal officer accountable versus a state or local officer.

Brent Ganger51:11We all want our law enforcement officers to perform at the highest standards, but when they don't, it shouldn't matter who their employer is. There should be a path to justice for those they harm.

Brent Ganger51:24Our family implores all members of Congress to work together to level the playing field and find common sense reform that provides accountability and justice for all. Thank you.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal51:36Thank you very much Brent. Ms. Carlson.

Stella Carlson51:38Senator Blumenthal, Congressman Garcia, and distinguished members, thank you for convening this forum and for having me here. My name is Stella Carlson. I never expected to be someone testifying before you today and I certainly never expected to bear witness to the final moments of a caring, peaceful and dedicated member of my community, Alex Preddy, as he died at the hands of our own government.

Stella Carlson52:06I am just a regular person but I care deeply about my community, my state, and my country, and I believe there is power in ordinary people speaking the truth On the morning of Saturday January 24th I was heading to work when I heard the whistles When I turned on to Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on that cold winter day I hardly recognized my own neighborhood There were masked and armed federal agents flooding into a one-block radius, more than I had seen before.

Stella Carlson52:42Agents were tackling innocent people to the ground, punching the windows of cars driving by, and pulling drivers out of their windows with force, all before I even parked. And that's when I saw the person whose name is now known all around the world, Alex Preti.

Stella Carlson52:58I didn't know Alex. We had never met. But I saw him standing in the street with a camera, filming in one hand and helping direct traffic with the other. He was calm. He was peaceful, handling the scene with grace.

Stella Carlson53:13Alex was not a threat. My instincts felt clear. I will be his backup because that's what we can do. We can observe and document. We can stand and bear witness, and that is what I did.

Stella Carlson53:30Soon everything changed. The agent's focus turned toward Alex. I was terrified. The number of agents around him grew abruptly as I stood feet away. I watched him turn away from the scene of agents and leaned down to help someone who had been brutally knocked down, leading to his very last words, Are you okay?

Stella Carlson53:49With his back facing them, I watched Alex be taken to the ground with a swarm of masked agents on top of him. In that moment, I believe Alex made a choice to be righteous, kind, and brave.

Stella Carlson54:02To stand up for his neighbors being assaulted in the street. And then they shot him. Again. And again. And again. Alex was flat on the ground. His limbs spread out. There was no movement.

Stella Carlson54:19the agents fled quickly. I watched Alex die. It all happened so fast. Then two masked agents returned and began to manipulate his dead body, ripping open his clothes as if to provide aid, but instead moving him around like a rag doll.

Stella Carlson54:35They fled, leaving him exposed and alone. time felt like it stopped. Alex laid in the street, abandoned as if his life had no value As I continued to film three of us stayed by his side as long as we could before the agents decided to return and come for us The image of his lifeless body stays with me but so does the image of Alex before the shooting, calm, holding his camera, directing traffic, trying to help in solidarity with his neighbors.

Stella Carlson55:16That is the Alex Preddy that I saw in his final moments. I have come to learn that is who Alex was to everyone who knew and loved him. And that is why what happened afterward was so disturbing to me, because I feel like I witnessed two assassinations.

Stella Carlson55:35The first was the literal assassination of Alex. The second was the attempted assassination of his character. Powerful voices at the highest level of government lied about Alex Preddy. they tried to take the gentle person I had watched with my own eyes and claim he was a violent threat.

Stella Carlson55:54Someone who came to cause maximum damage. Someone who wanted to kill law enforcement. Those were all lies. We observed his murder with our own eyes. And the truth does not become less true because someone with great power tells a louder lie.

Stella Carlson56:16What happened to Alex cannot be treated as an isolated moment. We have seen the same federal immigration tactics surge across communities beyond Minnesota. When federal agents operate with overwhelming force, when people are killed, and when the public is given false accounts of what happened, there must be accountability.

Stella Carlson56:37We need to know what happened. We need independent, thorough investigations, and we need that accountability at every level. This is ultimately about whether in America the truth belongs to whoever has the most power, or whether the truth still has the power to hold government accountable.

Stella Carlson56:59I believe it does. And that's why I will keep speaking. Because Alex, his family, and our communities deserve the truth. And our government has an obligation to answer for what happened. Thank you.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal57:16Thank you, Ms. Carlson. We're now gonna hear from Ronaldo Salgado.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado57:24Good afternoon My name is Ronaldo Salgado And I am Lorenzo Salgado Jr We are two of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo sons Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today It's been two and a half months since our father was killed by ICE.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado57:40Two and a half months that our family has spent navigating a nightmare we never expected. One where my brothers and I were left without our dad, our uncles without their brother, our grandma without her son, and our mom, who has been with our dad since they were teenagers without her life partner.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado58:03Our mom spends hours each day sitting in front of our dad's altar, reading her prayer book and talking to him. She used to spend her evenings cooking a big dinner for my dad, waiting for him to get home to help him recharge after a long day of work.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado58:19Now she spends those evenings at the cemetery. Our father's last days started like so many days during his 35 years in this country, a country that he loved. He and my mom woke up before the sun.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado58:29She cooked him another big meal to cater him through the day. He said goodbye to her, to our dog, and said a prayer inside his van and was out the driveway before 6 a.m. to pick up his construction crew, men he'd worked alongside for years, including our dear uncle Victor Hugo, who took real pride in their work.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado58:54At about 7 a.m. Central, our mom called to tell us our dad was in trouble. We suspected it involved ice. As a family, we had talked about what would happen if our dad encountered ice and how he would carry himself.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado59:07We dreaded the call, but we were prepared. We believed there would be a process and that no matter what happened, there would be a way for her dad to come home safely. I drove an hour to his work site to look for any signs of his van, but no luck.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado59:24Then I learned on Facebook about ice activity near the intersection of Canal and Wayside. I never imagined it was him. When I got to the intersection, I found my dad's van, but I didn't find him.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado59:39I asked anyone I could for information. Law enforcement, neighbors. I even asked a homeowner if I can climb on her roof to see what was going on. I learned again on Facebook that our dad had been shot.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado59:56I could hear his voice on the videos posted online. Crying for help. It took us hours to figure out where they had taken our father. While I was at the scene my brother was calling every hospital and police station he could, but no one would tell us where our dad was.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado60:10As soon as we learned that he'd been taken to Bentob Hospital I drove there as fast as I could but again waited for hours. It took Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia showing up to the hospital and demanding information to finally get confirmation.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado60:27Our father, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, had died from his injuries. Although multiple investigations are currently underway, we still haven't gotten our straight answers from DHS about what happened. DHS first said ICE targeted our father, then admitted he was never their intended target at all.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado60:49DHS also said he weaponized his vehicle, a claim the three men who were in the van with him have directly disputed and one that the surveillance footage made public so far does not appear to show.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado61:05DHS also claimed there may have been drugs in the vehicle which if anyone who knew my father would tell you, if you ask anyone who knew my father would tell you is absurd and which testing later proved to be false as we all knew it would.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado61:20I knew my father would have stopped the vehicle immediately if ICE agents had clearly identified themselves. That must have been terrifying not knowing who was after him. We still have so many questions. What are the names of the ICE agents who killed our dad?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado61:39Why do they get to be protected behind anonymity while my brother and I stand before cameras showing our faces proudly saying our first and last names. And why was this search warrant unsealed and made public?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado61:59Our dad was not a criminal. He was just a man who loved his family and woke up before the rest of the world did to put in honest day's work. And it's been two and a half months and we still don't have my dad's belongings back.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado62:11Aside from some change that he kept in his pocket, we don't have his wallet or his phone and and our mom that all she wants back We have no idea where his things are or who might have them We know we in this for the long haul Investigations like this can take a while but we are hopeful that once those investigations are complete, we will get a clear, transparent picture of everything that happened on that awful day.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado62:45Today, we're asking that you use your authority as members of Congress to help ensure that we get answers and that our Father gets the justice he deserves. First, there must be a thorough, truly independent investigation, not one where the agency under investigation also controls the evidence and can unilaterally clear its own officers of any wrongdoing.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado63:09Congress should insist that federal, state and local investigations all move forward with full federal cooperations and should demand answers on a public timeline. Second, every piece of evidence must be preserved and shared, including audio, agency communications, radio traffic, and any other video or audio that exists, even though no agent that day wore a body camera.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado63:35We have sent our own letters demanding the preservation of evidence, and we ask that you do the same. Third, use your powers as a member of Congress to enact laws that reign in ICE and protect the rights and lives of immigrants in this country.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado63:49We are not the only family living this nightmare. Look at the people sitting to our left and to our right. They too have had a loved one killed. They too have had a loved one killed by ICE.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado64:02A father, a mother, a daughter, a son. ICE is killing people, whether on the streets or in detention centers, and millions of immigrants and their loved ones are living in fear that they might be next.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado64:16the ICE accountable for what it's done to our family and so many others and do everything you can to make sure that this doesn't happen again. This must not be a partisan issue. This is an issue of right and wrong.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado64:27All elected members of Congress have a duty to ensure the safety and well-being of their constituents. Every member has immigrants living in their states, in their districts in their neighborhoods what is being done to make sure that they can live without fear we made a promise to our grandmother that we would spend every waking moment of our lives fighting for justice for our dad We made that promise to her at our father's wake, his open casket.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado65:12And we know the march towards justice is slow, but human history tells us it is steady and unyielding. Our dad deserves justice along with all the families around us. and will spend every moment making sure that he gets it.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado65:28I visit my dad's memorial every day. Not because it's where he died, but where a movement was born. It is my way of witnessing how many hearts my dad's story resonates with. And it is my motivation to continue fighting not just for my dad, but for everyone else's dad and families like mine.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado65:50I hope I'm doing the right thing every day. And I know my dad here is guiding me in the right direction. Thank you all for the opportunity to speak today. Justicia para Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado66:06Thank you.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal66:09Thank you both. Thank you for being here, to all of you for being here. Mr. Murphy.

Sean P. Murphy66:18Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero is a young man from Bucaramanga, Colombia, whose life was violently ripped and stolen from him in the early morning hours of July 13, 2026. He left his house that morning, as he did every morning, thinking primarily of the minute that he would return to hug his lovely wife Carolina and his beautiful sweet daughter Dulce.

Sean P. Murphy67:01The night before that morning was a night like any other. Carolina was folding laundry. He announced that he was going to bed and they shared a kiss. Neither of them had any clue that kiss was to be their last.

Sean P. Murphy67:16Ranking Member Blumenthal, Ranking Member Garcia, thank you both for your dedication to and your relentless pursuit of truth justice and accountability My name is Sean P Murphy and together with Ben Gideon we are honored to represent the family and estate of Joan Sebastian Doran Guerrero I am similarly honored to sit here today and add my voice to those of friends, families, and community members that are here on behalf of Ruben Ray Martinez, Renee Good, Alex Preddy, and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

Sean P. Murphy67:55This is an exclusive club whose membership dues no one would ever want to pay. A congregation whose baptism by hellfire no one should ever have to endure. Regrettably, I did not have the privilege of knowing Joan Sebastian when he was alive.

Sean P. Murphy68:16It's an odd and beautiful thing to only know Joan Sebastian through those he left behind. I'm grateful for the opportunity to preserve his memory in the records of the United States of America and I am proud to declare that although he was not a citizen of this country he was an American in the purest sense of that word he was a true patriot I knew him through his parents Omar and Dora They traveled here from Colombia to collect their son's body and fly it home.

Sean P. Murphy68:54While they were here, I accompanied them to the funeral home in Portland where Johan's body lay. I stepped outside the room, but the cries of a mother over the body of her murdered son pierced those walls.

Sean P. Murphy69:08In some sense, I believe those cries pierced space and time. As a side note, I believe that there is a parking spot in hell reserved especially for anyone who is a but-for factor in the causal link of those laments.

Sean P. Murphy69:24It was a lamentation that I never wanted to hear, and it is one that I never want to forget. I'm not sure if I felt her agony more with my ears or through my soul.

Sean P. Murphy69:39I have known Johan through his older sister, Daniela, who was the first to come to America and who loved her brother. I know that as any older sibling would, Daniela carries much guilt. I state for the record here today that Daniela, this is not your fault.

Sean P. Murphy70:00our fault. You are not to blame. We know who the parties responsible are. Finally, I've known Johan Sebastian through his partner, Carolina, and his daughter Dulce. Carolina, I'm amazed at your resilience. I would sacrifice greatly for even a fraction of the strength of character that you possess.

Sean P. Murphy70:24This country has taken everything from you and I am sorry. To spend two minutes with Dulce is to know that the fire of Johann Sebastian lives on. The world is a darker place for having extinguished his flame but there is hope for a brighter future as Dulce's fire grows.

Sean P. Murphy70:41The loss of Johann Sebastian is a tragedy. In the past two months Ben and I have been fighting for him and we will continue to fight for him and his legacy, we will continue to fight for truth, justice, and accountability.

Sean P. Murphy71:00While I desperately want to keep this focused on the tragedy of losing even one life to the world, I would be remiss if I did not address the political elephant in the room, that on the other side of Johan's life lost is the nefarious decision by this administration to steal and take that life.

Sean P. Murphy71:15In doing so, I will tell you one thing that we recently learned. It's a detail of the shooting of Johan Sebastian that I am revealing publicly for you the first time today. Carolina Daniela and I recently attended a meeting with representatives from the Maine Attorney General's Office, accompanied by immigration attorneys and excellent community support representatives.

Sean P. Murphy71:40By the way, the Maine Attorney General's Office is the first and only governmental agency that has confirmed that they are investigating the deadly use of force by a federal agent. Part of the purpose of this meeting was to return property that was found to have no evidentiary value.

Sean P. Murphy71:56One item that was not returned was a car seat. Dulce's car seat. After Carolina asked if it was going to be returned, she was told that it would not. Why, she asked. Well, because just like bullets fired by a federal agent struck and killed Joan Sebastian, A bullet fired by a federal agent struck and pierced Dulce car seat I would remind you that early reporting was that Dulce was in the car with Yohann at the time of his shooting.

Sean P. Murphy72:46was not, thank God, but if she had been. The only justification given for Johan's death was that it was in the interest of public safety. You know what actually keeps the public safe? Not shooting innocent and law-abiding fathers whose only dream is to build a better life for his family.

Sean P. Murphy73:09I will say this next part quietly, but with the hope and belief that just as the grieving of Johann Sebastian's mother permeated the walls of the funeral home, this next declaration permeates the walls of this building and reaches, if not the ears, the souls of any public servant who has a soul left to receive it.

Sean P. Murphy73:26Anyone who would defend the murder of Johann Sebastian is not a true patriot. But because anger rings hollow unless accompanied by hope, allow me to conclude with the message of hope. As every Mainer that has passed through the dead of winter knows, even the harshest cold must eventually yield to spring.

Sean P. Murphy73:46Even though according to the calendar we are just now heading into winter, it is my hope and prayer that with the upcoming midterm elections, our nation will begin charting its own path into spring.

Sean P. Murphy73:58I am sorry. I am sorry to all those around me. I am sorry to the people of Bucaramanga and the people of Colombia that we so gravely mistreated one of your own. I hope you'll allow me just a moment to express my thoughts in Spanish.

Sean P. Murphy74:37Vida. The English translation of this is, this is not who we are as Americans. We have to do better. And this president and wannabe king must immediately stop violating our right to life. I sorry that neither Carolina nor Daniela can be here to properly honor Joan themselves Although my voice and words are a poor substitute for their own both Carolina and Daniela have asked me to share the following statements with you and with the people of America.

Sean P. Murphy75:10From Daniela. sus documentos y no tenía ninguna orden de deportación. Ningún inmigrante merece ser tratado así. In English, this is on behalf of my family and I. We want the investigation into the death of my brother, Johan Sebastian, to be transparent so that the details surrounding his death are not left unclear.

Sean P. Murphy75:43He was a good man that was following the rules with his documents. He did not have any deportation order. No immigrant deserves to be treated this way. From Carolina, English language translation of that statement is that no immigrant should be murdered in this way.

Sean P. Murphy76:15On behalf of my husband's family, my daughter, and myself, we insist on justice. Senator Blumenthal and Representative Garcia, I hope that we can meet again soon after the midterms with a renewed vigor for truth, justice, and accountability.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal76:39Thank you very much, Mr. Murphy. We certainly share that hope and belief. We're going to have questions now for members of the panel. We're going to have four minute rounds because we are fortunate to have a very robust turnout on both the House and the Senate.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal77:01and we'll try to stick to those four minutes. Representative Garcia will begin. I'll follow him. We'll go to a House member, then to a Senate member. Senator Padilla will be our first senator after myself.

Rep. Robert Garcia77:18Thank you, Senator. Thank you to all the just really powerful testimony today. Hard to hear but really important so thank you again I want to just begin by a couple of questions about a couple of the cases Now on January 24th we know that as ICE went through Minneapolis Alex Preddy who of course was a nurse was observing DHS agents and standing up for the community.

Rep. Robert Garcia77:41I think it's really important that we remember that he was standing up for his community. And I'm sure many Americans remember this incident, perhaps this exact photo. Now, several of the agents, of course, crossed the street to confront Mr. Preddy because he was actually recording, he was engaging and ensuring that people were protected.

Rep. Robert Garcia78:02We know that of course an agent pushed another observer and Mr. Preddy put his body between that agent and the person being shoved. And in response, that same agent sprayed Mr. Preddy with chemicals and pulled him to his knees.

Rep. Robert Garcia78:17Six other agents quickly surrounded them. Now moments later, 10 shots were fired and Mr. Preddy, of course, was killed. Now Ms. Carlson, you were present when Mr. Preddy was shot. You were a key witness to this tragedy.

Rep. Robert Garcia78:33Your video, which many folks of course have seen, is crucial and critical evidence and of course the killing of Mr. Preddy. Now Trump officials, including former Secretary Noam, claimed that Mr. Preddy took out a firearm.

Rep. Robert Garcia78:47Ms. Carlson, during the altercation you witnessed and recorded, at any time did Mr. Preddie ever take out a firearm?

Stella Carlson78:53No, and I was never aware, nor did I see any firearm. Did

Rep. Robert Garcia78:57Mr. Preddie at any moment threaten law enforcement in any way at all?

Stella Carlson79:01No, he did not. He was trying to keep the peace and keep others from coming into the area that was no longer safe.

Rep. Robert Garcia79:07Now, Stephen Miller claims Mr. Preddie was somehow attempting to assassinate law enforcement. He said assassinate law enforcement, is what Stephen Miller said. Was that true? His

Stella Carlson79:18back was turned from the federal agents the whole duration of time that I was there.

Rep. Robert Garcia79:24Thank you. And of course, to be clear, Stephen Miller is a liar. Yes. And in no way is his account true. In fact, he tried to smear an American citizen, Mr. Preddy. Now, did DHS agents have any justification in your opinion for what they did to Mr. Preddy in shooting Mr. Preddy?

Stella Carlson79:43No, they did not have a right to assassinate him in the street.

Rep. Robert Garcia79:48And to be clear, Mr. Pretty was was murdered on the street. Stephen Miller tried and said horrific things about the incident that there needs to be accountability for the harm that He has caused and continues to cause and thank you for for being here.

Rep. Robert Garcia80:00I also want to bring up this picture here Now, um, this is a wonderful picture Mr. Ronnie, Mr. Lorenzo, I'll call you just just by your first name because so I can give you each different questions But thank you both for the Salgado family.

Rep. Robert Garcia80:22Thank you for being here Just a quick thing. Ronnie, your father lived and worked in the U.S. for 35 years. Is that correct?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado80:31Yes, sir.

Rep. Robert Garcia80:3235 years lived and worked here. Hard work. Gave back to this country. Did everything he could to support other members of the community in this country. Is that correct?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado80:42Yes, sir.

Rep. Robert Garcia80:43He was here because he wanted to live the American dream. He came to this country undocumented. I came to this country undocumented. His construction crew built hundreds of homes for his community. Is that correct?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado80:56Yes, sir.

Rep. Robert Garcia80:56He raised three kids in this country and sent them all to college. Is that correct?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado81:02Yes, proudly college educated, yes.

Rep. Robert Garcia81:04And at the time that he was killed, he was working through the process to get legal status. Is that correct?

81:11Yes.

Rep. Robert Garcia81:12He was close to obtaining his American dream, which was legal status in the U.S. Is that not correct?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado81:19Correct.

Rep. Robert Garcia81:20I just want to note that for both of you, your courage and the way you guys have presented yourselves and honored your dad's legacy and your family's legacy has been inspirational to people all across this country.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado81:35Thank you.

Rep. Robert Garcia81:36I'm honored and proud to hear the way you talk about your father. And I just want to let you know that your father was a hero. He built homes, places where people lived their lives.

Rep. Robert Garcia81:50He loved his community. He put his kids through college. He was a good dad. He was a good husband. And his legacy will be honored by this Congress and by this country. I just want to thank both of you for being here very much.

Rep. Robert Garcia82:03And the last thing I just want to say is it's so important for this joint committee for there to be accountability. And I wish Stephen Miller would hear these stories. I'm not sure that he would even care about what was being said.

Rep. Robert Garcia82:19But it going to be up to us to hold those that are responsible including the agents that murdered your family members responsible And thank you very much Senator Blumenthal Thank you Thanks Representative Garcia And your grandmother should be proud of you too for being in it for the long haul

Sen. Richard Blumenthal82:38We're in it for the long haul as well. And Mr. Murphy, justice shouldn't have to wait for an election. Let's talk about the elephant in the room here. in this really powerful testimony you've given us.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal82:57I feel your grief and your sadness, but I also feel your anger. And we should share that anger. And it's anger that should be directed at the administration, at Miller and Trump and Mullins and Noem, but it also ought to be directed at Congress.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal83:20Congress has a job to do, and Congress is not doing that job because the majority, which controls what happens on the floor, what happens in committees, is failing to do its job. And Brent, you were here just months ago.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal83:42Has the murder of your sister been held accountable in any way?

Brent Ganger83:47No, there's been no accountability.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal83:49Has there been a real investigation of that murder? No. Have authorities tried to get the evidence to do that investigation?

Brent Ganger84:00Yes, they've tried and been denied.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal84:02And they are state authorities, correct? Correct. And the same is happening again in Texas now. Wilbur Rafael Garces Perez, who was shot, is in detention. and ICE is refusing to provide evidence, the video tapes of that shooting to the prosecutor in Travis County, Jose Garcia.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal84:33History is repeating itself because there is no deterrence. There is no penalty imposed on ICE. If these federal authorities were state or local, they could be held accountable under the law civilly. Because they are federal they have a degree of immunity that protects them in this law And it is law that takes lives Lorenzo and Ronaldo, in the two months since your father's murder, DHS has made a series of truly despicable and false claims about your father.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal85:19How has that affected your family?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado85:21The warrant being unsealed by the FBI came during a time where we were planning our dad's funeral, our celebration of life. It just added another layer of stress, another layer of undue burden on our family.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado85:39We knew who our dad was and him being associated with drugs is absolutely just incorrect. Anyone who knew our dad knows that he would never get involved in any of that.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal86:00Mr. Murphy, you help Johan's family through one of the most extraordinarily painful things any attorney can ever be called upon to do. went with them to identify his body, and you are demanding accountability.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal86:21Have you had any adequate response to your demands?

Sean P. Murphy86:27No. No, there's been radio silence. The DHS has still refused to even identify the name of the shooter or any of the DHS witnesses or ICE agents that witnessed the murder of Johann Sebastian, even though he's been identified by the press and news

Sen. Richard Blumenthal86:48media. Not the names of the witnesses?

Sean P. Murphy86:50No names have been given to us. Not

Sen. Richard Blumenthal86:52any videotape? None. Any documentary evidence? No.

Sean P. Murphy86:57No, nothing about their game plan that day or lack thereof.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal87:02I'd call that stonewalling, wouldn't you? Yes. Thank you. You want to call on a House member? Thank you. Thank

Rep. Robert Garcia87:11you. Representative Crockett.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett87:12Thank you so much and thank you to all of the witnesses. I want to start by saying that I am about to be real partisan in this moment. I just am Because I remember when there was a party that described themselves as the party of law and order and it seems like all we getting is lawlessness and obstruction I think that Mr Murphy you have laid it out just now that you not getting anything but obstruction and stonewalling And I must say because I am a lawyer so I want to minimize some of the conversations that I have with some of you But Ms. Carlson, as a witness to Mr. Preddy's death, has any federal agency like the DOJ or FBI reached out to you?

Stella Carlson87:57We had a meeting with DHS, FBI, and some various forms of government on March 26th.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett88:04And has anything come of that?

Stella Carlson88:06No.

88:07Okay.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett88:07So let's talk about this. Because we know that Mr. Preddy was killed on or about January 24th, 2026. Yet it doesn't seem as if anyone has been arrested for his killing, but juxtapose that with the fact that on June 19, 2026, there was an Olympian by the name of David Hearn that was arrested for an issue with the reflecting pool.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett88:31It tells me that the priorities have nothing to do with human life as it relates to this administration. In fact, this administration is engaged in division and distractions, and that takes me back to something that was said a little earlier by Mr. Ganger.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett88:51You said white people like me. Do you remember your opening statement where you said something about that?

Sen. Richard Blumenthal88:57Yes. Okay.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett88:58To give context to that, for those of you that don't know, my dad is a preacher. And when I go out and campaign sometimes, I usually don't pull from a Bible verse. I actually pull from usually a gospel song.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett89:12And there is a song that goes, I need you to survive. And that song says, I need you, you need me, we're all a part of God's body. Stand with me, agree with me, we're all a part of God's body.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett89:26The reason that I bring this up is because, unfortunately, at some point in time, we have gotten divided. And I sit here as a black woman in America that understands the terrible history that this country has had, specifically with policing black folk in the past and in the present.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett89:44I see the corollary between what is happening today, whether we are talking about people with accents, whether we're talking about people with less melanin than me, whether we are talking about people that simply are trying to survive.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett89:57And so again, with me being very part of In this moment, I just want to be clear that there is only one party that isn't just talking about this because sadly enough, when we look around this room, only one party showed up today.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett90:12This has become a partisan issue when it should not be. And I am here to tell you that enough with the nonsense of Democrats are demons and devils and not Christians and Democrats don't believe in lawfulness because we do.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett90:26But the difference is I believe in accountability for everybody. I don't care if you wear a uniform. The reality is that there are people that may or may not come across this and will say that I don't do politics, but I want to be clear politics will do you.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett90:42The last thing that I will say, because we do have these brave souls that are sitting here and and sadly enough they are telling their stories, but I want to be clear. I don't want y'all to think that these are one-offs.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett90:50If you have been impacted by ICE in a detrimental way and you are in this room right now, I want you to stand. The reality is that there are so many more stories. There are so many more names that you will never hear.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett91:15It is important. We only have 42 days. I don't want y'all to get distracted. I am not saying compromise who you are. But I am saying that if you care about your neighbors or if you just want to be selfish and you care about yourself.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett91:34It is time to vote them out and I will yield.

Sen. Alex Padilla91:44Senator Padilla. Thank you, ranking member Blumenthal, ranking member Garcia and to all my colleagues from both houses that made the time to be here today. Especially want to thank all the witnesses for your courage to be here.

Sen. Alex Padilla92:04For your courage to share. You've already answered my first question. I wanted to go through each of you and ask what life has been like. But losing a loved one representing Someone who been whose life has been taken at the hands of ice or to have the fateful experience of being in the wrong place at the wrong time to record video Traumatic Emotional.

Sen. Alex Padilla92:36I know you guys will will never forget. But I think setting the stage because ultimately and you've all been very eloquent in saying where we need to get to is accountability. There's a whole lot of issues that need to be.

Sen. Alex Padilla92:49Looked into investigated. Ultimately, we need to get to accountability in each of these cases and systematically for ICE, for CBP, for the Department of Homeland Security, for the Trump administration writ large. But I want to sober us a little bit by saying, colleagues, are we really surprised?

Sen. Alex Padilla93:11Because we shouldn't be. Look at what the record of this administration and the current Republican majority in Congress has led to, among other things, between the appropriations process, the big BS bill, reconciliation overall.

Sen. Alex Padilla93:30It's such a huge surge of resources to DHS and ICE and CBP specifically. And what does that translate it into? Huge hiring numbers. And we have the experience at the state and local level of what it means for law enforcement when you hire too many people too quickly.

Sen. Alex Padilla93:50The evidence is out. The lowering of the hiring standards, the compromises on background, the lowering of the training requirements. And so what happens when you hire too many too fast? You lower your hiring standards in terms of background, you don't train them sufficiently, but then you give people a badge and a gun and you deploy them into our communities across the country.

Sen. Alex Padilla94:19We could have predicted this. We did predict this. And I lay all that out because obviously tragedies have happened. Both on the streets, and we've seen the footage on the nightly news and our social media feeds.

Sen. Alex Padilla94:39We're not seeing the tragedy of what's happening in detention facilities. We're colleagues. Yesterday we got notification of the 58th person losing their life in ICE custody. This isn't detention, separate and apart from what we've seen on the streets.

Sen. Alex Padilla94:57Kavanaugh stops It not like they targeting the worst of the worst They claim that Mr Salgado is not the worst of the worst. He was going to work. But anybody that fits a certain physical profile is fair game for ICE and CBP under this administration.

Sen. Alex Padilla95:21The disregard for judicial warrants. We're, I think, making progress in the courts on this issue, but a year and a half later, it's had consequences. The arbitrary quotas, whether it's coming from Trump, from Miller, or anybody else, we know that it's out there.

Sen. Alex Padilla95:39The indiscriminate rates, they don't really target. They don't care who they're rounding up. They have to meet their numbers. All this has consequences. and the administration just doesn't care. Donald Trump doesn't care and the importance and the value of conversations like we're having today is that these aren't just numbers.

Sen. Alex Padilla96:01These are people. Yes, some undocumented immigrants. Yes, also many legal immigrants and even United States citizens. These are people. This is impacting their families. this is impacting their communities and that's why we're all committed to accountability in all its forms and when we get the gavels back we're gonna move on that aggressively starting with the investigations right we'll get it individually the administration held accountable but to think that after a use of force including a shooting involving officers or agents that there's not a true credible independent investigation.

Sen. Alex Padilla96:44There's a travesty of justice. Under normal circumstances there may be some of that within a department or an agency or elsewhere in that department or agency, but this administration has zero credibility on that.

Sen. Alex Padilla96:57Under normal circumstances we have a Department of Justice with a civil rights division that can be called in to conduct an independent investigation. This administration has no credibility credibility on that. And so we will create one because the American people deserve no less.

Sen. Alex Padilla97:21And to add intel to injury is the audacity from the secretaries of DHS to the president and everywhere in between to lie About Renee Good and Alex pretty and everybody else Shame on them.

Sen. Alex Padilla97:37Shame on them. And so I know my time is up, but I would ask just a quick question for each of you all. Cuz you talk about the need for accountability that I wanted to hear from you based on your experience beginning with Mrs. Reyes.

Sen. Alex Padilla97:52What would justice look like for you and for your family?

Rachel Reyes97:58Justice would be independent investigation, for sure. And also, I would like them to retract all the mischaracterizations that they said about my son, because that's very harmful, and it's not true. It's awful to do that to people.

98:14Thank you.

Sen. Alex Padilla98:15Mr. Ganger.

Brent Ganger98:17I think I speak for everybody here saying that true justice can't happen because they can't bring back our family members. But accountability at the level of the same accountability as local law enforcement, state law enforcement, they need to be held to the same standards.

Brent Ganger98:33And I think it really is a detriment to those law enforcement officers to see other people with a gun and a badge treating people this way.

Sen. Alex Padilla98:40Ms. Carlson.

Stella Carlson98:43I think justice for the murder of Alex Preddy for the ICE agents who shot him that day in connection. I don't think justice can be served until ICE is off our streets and until those in detention get to return home and no longer be a threat, no longer be fearing leaving their homes.

Stella Carlson99:00Justice is served once we can. We need ICE off our streets.

Sen. Alex Padilla99:11Mr. and Mr. Salgado.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado99:14Justice for us, for family, for my grandma, my mom. It means of course having ICE fully cooperate with a transparent independent investigation. But not just for my dad but for everyone else's families here.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado99:28Justice means much more than just our dad. It means for all people in the United States, all immigrants in the United States, to be able to live their lives without fear. We cannot let fear govern us.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado99:38Once that that threat to life is over, that's when truly justice will be done. When people are able to live their lives, go to school, go to work. That is what justice means to me.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado99:59Thank you. For me this is always been a hard question. It really looks like justice looks like you know every family being able to live their lives without fear and to heal to see my mom heal to hear her say that she got eight hours of sleep for myself to get eight hours of sleep.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado100:19That's what justice starts to begin to look

Sen. Alex Padilla100:26like. Thank you. Mr. Murphy.

Sean P. Murphy100:28So justice I think takes a couple forms. In addition to everything that's been said by the esteemed members of this panel, there's criminal justice. As you mentioned in normal times there would be an acting civil rights division that would investigate for deprivation of constitutional rights resulting in death under the color of law.

Sean P. Murphy100:47That should absolutely be investigated. The individual responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent, either by the federal authorities or the state authorities. Civil justice, all the negligent steps in the events that led up to the death of Johan Sebastian in that beautiful summer morning.

Sean P. Murphy101:14Who hired this agent who had hundreds of pages of family court filings against him, who had mental health history who never should have had a gun under section 922 of the United States code.

Sean P. Murphy101:28It was probably illegal for him to have a gun. How did that happen? And those people should be held accountable. And there's also future justice, which like Ronnie and Lorenzo mentioned, future justice means take away the momentum that ICE has right now to just keep steamrolling over Americans and those living in America and those who espouse and embrace American ideals stop them from being able to do future harm.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal102:05Representative Garcia, do you want to call on the next?

Rep. Robert Garcia102:08Thank you. Representative Randall.

Rep. Emily Randall102:10Thank you. I'm like my colleagues grateful to each of you for coming to testify and my heart is with you and your families but as Ms. Ganger said, our thoughts and prayers are not enough You bring your pain and grief to this committee because you and the American people deserve accountability and justice and policy changes that will prevent atrocities like these from happening in the future But instead, the GOP gave ICE and CBP $270 billion.

Rep. Emily Randall102:55$270 billion to terrorize communities, detain neighbors in facilities with deplorable conditions, murder innocent people in the streets unchecked. Under Trump's second term, at least 58 people have died in ICE custody. 20 people have been shot by immigration enforcement agents, the family members of all of you here, and most recently Mr. Wilbur Garces in Austin two days ago.

Rep. Emily Randall103:24In every case, the families of these people who have been killed and injured and the American people deserve real investigation and real solutions. Ronnie and Lorenzo, your father was a good man, a hard working man.

Rep. Emily Randall103:46How has the heart of your neighborhood where he was shot changed since his passing? How have your neighbors been impacted alongside your family?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado104:00well of course people in our community the east end of houston they live in fear a lot of them are immigrants themselves but through that fear the community members of the east end magnolia central park community they've put it upon themselves to take care and preserve the memorial of where my dad was shot.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado104:29They have brought words of encouragement. They've brought candles, flowers. They've left messages on the mural that's located there. They all want justice. They all want change. And they're always encouraging my brother and I to continue pushing to make sure that our dad's name, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo does not get forgotten The heart of our community is what keeps us going It is what fuels us every single day and as I said in my statement that sites the East End community.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado105:08It's not just where my dad died, but it's also where a movement was born, and I'm going to continue pushing forward however I can to make sure that there's justice, not just for my dad, but also justice for all affected by this agency.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado105:25Justice for Lorenzo Salgado and for everyone here.

Rep. Emily Randall105:28Thank you very much. Ms. Reyes, what you and your family have lived is appalling. The Texas Rangers investigated the killing of your son. In February 2026, a Texas grand jury declined to bring charges.

Rep. Emily Randall105:45Do you have concerns about how the investigation was conducted with no consequence to the officer's actions? Yes, I do have concerns. The Texas Ranger did let me know that he was acquainted with the shooter.

Rep. Emily Randall106:02So to me, that's not fair or impartial. And in addition to that, in the video, you could see the police chief, two hours after my son was shot and killed, walk up to the shooter and give him a hug and they were discussing how they were going to they already had a conclusion of this before she even received any basic facts as far as where everybody was positioned so that shouldn't be happening and I think that emphasizes exactly why we need independent investigations conducted because that's not fair and so I feel that Ruben didn't have a chance to begin with it because the decision was already decided the first night And also, we don't even know what the district attorney showed the grand jury.

Rep. Emily Randall106:47Because it's hard for me to believe that they came to that decision if they watch the same video that I saw. Because based on what I saw, I don't find that that was the right decision.

Rep. Emily Randall106:57It's clear that our communities, immigrants and non-immigrants alike, are being terrorized under this federal administration, under these federally funded law enforcement officers. And just like we saw people across the country become motivated to fight for police accountability in the summer of 2020, this is a moment where our neighbors are galvanized to stand alongside you and your families And I will work alongside my colleagues and I know all of us are committed to ensuring that we do everything we can to find real justice real accountability and to ensure that these atrocities stop happening in our neighborhoods.

Rep. Emily Randall107:38Thank you. Senator Smith.

Sen. Tina Smith107:47Thank you, Senator Blumenthal and also to Representative Garcia and particularly and especially thank Thank you to all of our witnesses. You spoke from the heart and you spoke the truth. And I want to particularly thank the Granger family, Donna and Brent, and Stella, who is here in many ways speaking for all of us from Minnesota, and the Preddy family.

Sen. Tina Smith108:15And Stella, you said something in your testimony that really I won't forget. You said, who can tell a louder lie? But then you also said that the truth belongs, sometimes it seems like the truth belongs to whoever has the most power.

Sen. Tina Smith108:31But here's the thing. Because you were there and you were able to capture the video of what happened, you changed that power dynamic. You changed it. So that what really happened that day on that street in South Minneapolis, everybody knows.

Sen. Tina Smith108:55I want to ask you something that you and I talked about when you came to my office a little bit ago, which is, you know, I think some folks in this country, some folks in this Congress, some folks in the Republican Party want us to think that this is all over.

Sen. Tina Smith109:10This is something that happened once. Is it over in Minneapolis? Is it over in Minnesota? Is this like a finished? Absolutely not. For one, ICE and federal agents are still around, right? In every community, they are still around.

Sen. Tina Smith109:27There are still unlawful arrests being made, people being detained, people disappearing and being kidnapped. So for that, it definitely, nothing has moved on. But as far as within the communities where there were tragedies, the community is coming together and we are very strong, but there's a lot of grief, a lot of pain.

Sen. Tina Smith109:47And like the fabric of a quilt is my, the way it visualizes for me. Like we have to re-thread the quilt again. And that takes time, but we really cannot do that until there is accountability.

Sen. Tina Smith110:00Without accountability, there's no way to move forward. How do you move forward when there hasn't been accountability for these crimes? And when there isn't some sense that these agents going forward are going to be held accountable, let's just say to the very same standards that anybody's local police department would be held to.

Sen. Tina Smith110:24We're not talking about some sort of extraordinary standard above and beyond. We're talking about the basic standards that the Minneapolis Police Department works so hard to try to deploy. And, you know, I think about what you just said about the impact on this kind of the social fabric, the quilt of our connectedness and our being together and what it means when there isn't accountability.

Sen. Tina Smith110:48And so Mr. Granger, Mr. Ganger, Brent, and I was thinking about my conversation with you and your mom, Donna. And, you know, Donna, you were saying, I'm not going to ask you a question, but you were saying that you are a Republican.

Sen. Tina Smith111:03You live in a small town in Kansas, about a thousand people. You're from Colorado. How do you think the people that you're, and I'm asking this to you, Brent, speaking maybe a little bit for your mom.

Sen. Tina Smith111:18How do you think those communities feel when they see this lack of accountability and the lack of anything really changing in the face of these terrible injustice and terrible crimes?

Brent Ganger111:32Well, I want them to know that it can happen to anybody. It's not a safe country when these agents are allowed to act this way. and I think you know like my mom and dad voted for Trump and obviously feel that their expectations have not been met of this administration and and like I said earlier I think it's a detriment to local and state law enforcement to see these agents act without accountability I think any trust that has been built can easily be taken away if they see if members of the United States see that these agents can act in any way they want to so I think it should be a an issue

Sen. Tina Smith112:18that everybody should care about well and I would say in closing that I think that while accountability and a free and fair investigation might be partisan issues inside this building They are not partisan issues out in the country And that something that Americans hold as their core values

Rachel Reyes112:37Thank you.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal112:38Thanks, Senator Smith.

Rep. Robert Garcia112:40Thank you so much. Next up is Representative Sourmanyam.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam112:44Thank you so much, Ranking Member, and thank you so much, Senator Blumenthal, for having us today. I want to thank you all for being here today. I'm so sad, though, that we're here today.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam112:55And so sad that I'm looking at pictures of the faces of mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, law-abiding American citizens who did nothing wrong. And now we have to have this conversation today because at the start of this we were told that they were going to go after the worst of the worst criminals, right?

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam113:12Well that was a lie. That was a lie. These are law-abiding American citizens who did nothing wrong, who deserve so much better. And the worst part is the cover-up. To not only have this happen, but to take no responsibility and to try to cover up the actions of these officers.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam113:33Officers who were not fully vetted, officers who were not fully qualified. If you look at it, we have whistleblowers tell us that the way they're evaluating new recruits, They were reducing the training time.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam113:49They were reducing the qualifications. We even had instances of people who had their own criminal histories who have gone on to commit these crimes. And that's what they are. These are crimes against American citizens.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam114:05And so as family members of the victims of ICE killings, I would just want to ask, did you ever receive an apology, an official apology from ICE? We could go down the line.

Stella Carlson114:19no no I will speak on behalf of those that I have spoken to who are close to

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado114:31pretty no no we haven't heard and we need our phone our dad's phone and wallet back from them

Sean P. Murphy114:41on behalf of the Duran Guerrero family and Carolina no So there's been complete radio silence.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam114:51That is shocking. And I want to tell you that I am sorry and we are all sorry that this happened while we in elected office And you deserve so much better You deserve accountability You deserve an apology And you deserve justice And that justice is not just for you.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam115:07It's for every single American family who could become the victim of this brutality. And so thank you so much for speaking out about this. It's easy in times like this to be silent, but to come here in the halls of Congress and to make your voice heard.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam115:22I hope that this never happens again, and it's gonna be my mission and the mission of everyone who is up here today to make sure it doesn't. I have about a minute left, and so I just wanna, I actually would love to hear from Mrs. Reyes.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam115:39You voted for Trump, I believe, and I don't wanna make this too political, but I just wanted to give you a minute to, in case Trump is watching, to say whatever you'd like to say for him to hear.

Rachel Reyes115:52Yes, I did vote for him and that is something that I truly regret. And I think a lot of Americans feel like me right now, especially the Latin community. It's just awful. His administration, I haven't heard anything from any Republican whatsoever.

Rachel Reyes116:12The only ones that have spoken out have, you know, it's, I can't even formulate my sentences right now. I'm so frustrated. I really don't want to speak to him. I'm very disappointed and he lied and he just keeps manipulating people and I just don't really have anything further to say because it's overwhelming right now of all the things I feel about him right now.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam116:36Thank you. I yield back.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal116:40Thank you. Representative Bell.

Rep. Wesley Bell116:43Thank you. Before coming to Congress, I served as the elected St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney and I've sat with families who've lost someone to this kind of violence. We had an office of 200 people, and so we had a lot of attorneys that would handle different cases, but in cases like these, I would always make certain that the families, the loved ones were able to meet with me personally.

Rep. Wesley Bell117:21because I wanted to make a point to be able to look them in the eye talk to them and one walk them through every step of the case but also to hear their stories the nuance the details that a report doesn't always capture.

Rep. Wesley Bell117:50And you all are not case files. You're not stacked on the desk of some attorney. You're real people, your loved ones were real people who loved you and were loved. And so when we hear about these investigations or lack thereof, this administration, let me be specific, this administration has fallen short in a way that can't be just called a mistake because mistakes tend to be random but what we see is a pattern and I'd like to focus on one of these cases quickly.

Rep. Wesley Bell118:48Renato and Lorenzo Salgado, if it's all right with you both, I want to start by remembering that your father was a real person. And so tell us about him and what you remember about him.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado119:14My dad, he was, he's a man, you know, he loved music. He loved his family. He loved, he was an animal lover. He loved his horses when he was growing up. He loved our dogs, cats, his birds.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado119:30And everybody describes him that, as we've gotten to know, the people that he's impacted, they described him as jovial, as lively, as kind of being the life of the party, essentially. You know, bringing joy to his crew during the tough work days, making those days a little bit easier.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado119:56And yeah, I mean, you know, He was a man just like anyone else.

120:03And, yeah.

Rep. Wesley Bell120:05Within hours, and thank you for sharing that. And within hours, DHS claimed your father, quote unquote, weaponized his van in an attempt to run over an officer. And I want the record to be clear.

Rep. Wesley Bell120:25Was that the kind of man your father was?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado120:28Absolutely not.

Rep. Wesley Bell120:30No family should have to defend the integrity of their loved ones when there exists no evidence otherwise. If that was the first thing that we heard from this administration, and so we're here to focus on solutions and what we would like to see from this point and what we're going to demand to see is that independent agencies investigate these investigations, investigations, that scenes are secured, that officers are named to ensure that investigations are clear, transparent, detailed, and thorough.

Rep. Wesley Bell121:04Because everyone deserves that. Everyone who's been terrorized by ICE, anyone who's ever been victimized deserves to know the truth and deserves to know exactly what you all said earlier, they deserve justice. I yield back.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal121:33Thank you, Representative Bell. Senator Van Hoen.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen121:38Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding this hearing, and especially to all of you testifying today. Thank you for your courage for coming forth to testify under very difficult personal circumstances for most of you, and to Ms. Carlson, thank you for capturing the video that you did.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen122:00I was out in Minneapolis a few weeks ago and went to the makeshift memorials for Renee Good and Alex Preddy, and it was heartbreaking. You could see the outpouring of love from a community that stood with them as they tried to stand with their neighbors.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen122:22In Renee Good's memorial, you could see the teddy bears lining the memorial because she had teddy bears in the passenger seat of her car when she was gunned down by ICE So I asked the current DHS secretary just a little while back, Secretary Mullen, whether there was a pattern of misconduct and lying in these cases.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen122:50A pattern of unjust killings and then attempts to lie and cover up about it. He said there was no pattern. I would just like to ask each of you, as I look at this entire row of people who have suffered through these tragedies, whether you're witnessing a pattern of misconduct and abuse by ICE, starting with you.

Rachel Reyes123:18Yes, sir, absolutely.

Brent Ganger123:22There's a clear pattern, and I think you can, in the verbiage that they used, weaponized a vehicle, and it being untrue on both accounts.

Stella Carlson123:33There is a pattern in trying to destroy the integrity of that person's life while they were still here.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado123:41eyes lies and they try to smear all of our family members names to try to maybe justify anything clear pattern absolutely the

Sean P. Murphy123:55dehumanization of the victims of these crimes is despicable the patterns of dual assassinations one of the body and then of the character is disgusting and there's a pattern that if you're not seeing it, it's because you have your eyes

Sen. Chris Van Hollen124:14closed. Well, I want to pick up on that last point because it's pretty clear from the initial statements that come out of this administration about all of your loved ones that there's an effort by ICE to smear the victims here.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen124:27After all, they called Alex Preddy and Renee Good domestic terrorists. The real domestic terrorists are in the White House right now. But they wouldn't, the reason they didn't get away with it was because of video from people like Ms Carlson So would you all agree that but for the fact that we had video or eyewitnesses to counter their lies that they might be trying to get away with this

Rachel Reyes125:10Yes, I do.

Brent Ganger125:13Yeah, I think it's vital for people like Ms. Carlson to be there and to have our own account of what happened, because without it, they might get away with things like these.

Stella Carlson125:25I would say it is one thing that we do have and the more of us that can stand up in positions when we can in solidarity and film and witness and stand notice, the further we can move towards justice.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado125:38It saddens me that, at least in my case and in some other cases, ICE agents were not wearing body cams. It's up to us, the people, and the businesses of the areas surrounding these deaths that their video has to be the one that shows the truth.

Sean P. Murphy126:00Sadly, in the case of the murder of Johann Sebastian Duran Guerrero, we don't have the crucial moments on video and so this smear campaign against you know and sebastian continues and as i testified earlier i'll testify again he was a good man he loved his family he loved his daughter he would have never weaponized a vehicle regardless of whether or not factually a vehicle can be weaponized in the five feet it takes to pull out of a parking space

Sen. Chris Van Hollen126:31that's why i think this pattern is so important because you see a pattern first of these killings followed by an attempt to hide them and in the cases where there's video we know about it but where there's not they make up their lies but that's why it's important to put the full picture together in these lies and we I think all of us here at this dais understand that in the end we have to see accountability in each and one of these cases in order to prevent future tragedy I know that's why you're all here, to prevent this from happening to other people.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen127:05Thank you for your powerful testimony and for being here.

Rep. Robert Garcia127:14Thank you. Representative Simon.

Rep. Lateefah Simon127:20Thank you, ranking member and ranking member I am so honored to be here with you all today and have learned just so much It was almost 25 years ago when one of my best friends in the world was shot almost 30 times by law enforcement And I will never forget the image of his body being rolled out.

Rep. Lateefah Simon127:52He had not yet grown up to be an elder. He lost his life in his 20s. And the grief in his mother's belly is still there. And as you all talked, I thought about Idris, Idris Steli, and I thought about the movement locally in my own community, that his dreadful loss brought so many people together.

Rep. Lateefah Simon128:21But every story that you told, I thought, when a loved one is murdered, not just killed, Miss Good, Rachel, your beautiful son, Mr. Pretty, your father, your client, when they were murdered, they were murdered and dehumanized in that moment.

Rep. Lateefah Simon128:50But when your family is murdered by the state, and there is no investigation, and there are callous things written and said about the person you love so much, it's like grief has nowhere to go.

Rep. Lateefah Simon129:10But you showed up here. You showed up here. Who do you call when the state kills your family member and cold blood and spits on their grave. The folks here today are absolute heroes who will bring forth not only a new conversation about justice and what it means for law enforcement to be held as accountable as folks in our communities if they do wrong.

Rep. Lateefah Simon129:39You have enlightened millions and millions of folks around the world about what we deserve, papers or not. that law enforcement should not be justice, jury, and executioner. I'm so thankful. And what we've heard today, and I will tell you, The folks who came here are dedicated to walking with you in this journey that you deserve justice if justice can even be had because when your person is ripped from life, you stare at the toothbrush, you stare at the clothes in the closet, you don't turn off the cell phone for the first few months.

Rep. Lateefah Simon130:19You're looking at every piece of mail that comes in the mail hoping that it'll be an answer or some maybe some victim restitution and it doesn't come but still you show up. So yes you all deserve and we will push to ensure those investigations happen.

Rep. Lateefah Simon130:37And more importantly beyond justice because lives will not be brought back you all deserve accountability. But instead and I want to make this clear for folks who are watching. Instead of justice and accountability, the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security, they pushed shameful, horrific narratives about our neighbors, about folks who have been killed, been murdered, horrible narratives.

Rep. Lateefah Simon131:12These narratives have called them terrorist or dangerous threats. Threats so dangerous that they warrant state-sanctioned murder in broad daylight. Now, there's a lot I wanted to say today, but so much of it has been said.

Rep. Lateefah Simon131:37But again, I just, the thank you for your relentless voice. I can't imagine what Ms. Good's daughter felt like that day when her mother didn't pick her up from daycare. Who do you call when the state kills your daughter?

Rep. Lateefah Simon131:58You know, I've been thinking a lot about you, Ms. Carlson, and much has been said about your heroism. But you also said something that I don't care how you vote and who you pray to.

Rep. Lateefah Simon132:16I hope folks can hear what you said. Your action was about bearing witness, a deep and profound witness to something you should have never had to witness I want you to talk a little bit more about one you sacrificed all of you so much But your simple act of bearing witness and showing the world what you saw has not had necessarily positive effects on your own life.

Rep. Lateefah Simon132:50I would like to hear a little bit more because you're going to also inspire other folks to speak up and show and share when they see injustice. What has life been like for you as again someone who put forth the truth?

Stella Carlson133:08Well I will start by saying my life is a hundred and eighty degrees different, but I wouldn't do it any differently. I think the one thing I have gained with so much loss is community and an understanding of the abilities of groups of people when they come together including the day when Alex died.

Stella Carlson133:30There were collective efforts in our communities to keep each other safe and I chose to be there that day to be clear and I chose to be a witness in my community and I I believe that we all have to make our assessments of what we can do to bear witness to crimes happening in our communities but specifically around federal agents in our streets and people afraid to leave their homes I think being able to find your place in in bearing witness.

Stella Carlson134:04There's lots of ways to do that. I understand it's scary and it's not easy to to take a risk or to or to sit in a place of fear of retaliation, but the truth is the more of us that do it the more of us that we can stand together and support each other.

Stella Carlson134:28And I have found that. I have found a lot of support. But I will say there are consequences, but that shouldn't deter you from doing it. I have found great community and great support.

Stella Carlson134:36But yes, there are consequences. There are losses. I have lost work. I have lost support in some areas. But given right now in this time and standing up and bearing witness with the federal agents and with ICE and what is happening in our streets right now we need everybody to come together We need everybody to stand up because that is how we move this That how we move it to the next place and we prevent another family member from dying because nobody deserves to die for just going to work, being in their community, going grocery shopping, delivering DoorDash.

Stella Carlson135:15No one should be shot for waking up that day.

Rep. Lateefah Simon135:20Thank you all and thank you to the victims' families. May God have deep mercy and love and justice extended to you all. Thank you so much for being here.

Rep. Robert Garcia135:32Thank you. Representative Pingree.

Rep. Chellie Pingree135:37Thank you, Ranking Member Garcia. Thank you to you and Senator Blumenthal for holding this hearing. And to all of you, thank you so much for being witnesses, for your very moving testimony, for the courage of the fight you've been putting up and that you will continue.

Rep. Chellie Pingree135:52and just for being with all of us here today and to all of your family members and those who are supporting you, thank you too. Your family members should be alive today. DHS has still not identified the officer who shot Johann Sebastian in Maine.

Rep. Chellie Pingree136:09We know he wasn't wearing a body camera. And we know from reporting and from his ex-wives that the agent is David Brulette, somebody who could not get hired by a small-town police force in Maine.

Rep. Chellie Pingree136:22Court records and family interviews revealed serious warning signs in his background before I sent him into our communities with a badge and a gun. He should never have been entrusted with that power. Johann Sebastian, as you've heard such eloquent testimony, he was a son, he was a father, and he was a hard-working part of his community in Biddeford, Maine.

Rep. Chellie Pingree136:45DHS has admitted that he was not the intended target of the operation that morning. So many questions remain and his family deserves to know how this happened. His family, his community, and the state of Maine need to know who will be held accountable.

Rep. Chellie Pingree137:01Mr. Murphy, thank you so much for the care that you've taken with Johann Sebastian's family and the fight that you're putting up on their behalf. Maine is fortunate because our Attorney General is investigating this and the detail you revealed today about the bullet in the child seat was gut-wrenching.

Rep. Chellie Pingree137:19Prior to coming to Maine, I know you were a federal prosecutor in Puerto Rico Can you tell us from your perspective what differs about the lack of an investigation in Maine and the other stories that you been hearing about You know what should be happening Tell us in your eyes what should be going on.

Sean P. Murphy137:39Thank you Representative Pingree and thank you for the support that you've given throughout this very difficult situation that Maine has suddenly been thrust into. Before I was an assistant U.S. attorney in Puerto Rico, I served as an assistant district attorney in the county of the Bronx in New York City.

Sean P. Murphy138:00From day one, my only goal and the goal of all those around me was to find justice and truth and accountability. In the federal realm, when something like this, whenever something happened that we wanted to investigate we would be thorough we would be fast we knew that every moment that passed following a crime or an incident we needed to preserve cell phone records digital evidence we think that digital evidence lasts forever but it can disappear and it can disappear quickly or get over written we move fast we interview you cast a wide net and you investigate thoroughly.

Sean P. Murphy138:45There's been none of that. It was almost immediately after July 13th, 2026, when Johan Sebastian was shot and killed, that the FBI issued a statement that they would no longer be investigating ICE-involved shootings.

Sean P. Murphy138:58It's my understanding that there were some FBI agents that responded to the initial shooting, but they gave over all the evidence, whatever evidence, if they gathered any evidence and have taken no further action.

Sean P. Murphy139:14My Latin is a lot worse than my Spanish, but there's the old Latin saying, qui custode il custode, who watches the watchers. It makes zero sense to have DHS investigating themselves. The young man that was shot in Texas in the back, mind you, it used to be a sign of cowardice to shoot people in the back.

Sean P. Murphy139:46But now we have the young man in Texas who was shot in the back and Alex Prady who was shot in the back. Tells you something about who's doing the shooting. But the fact that he still has a bullet in his back and they're trying to actively deport him as soon as possible, I mean, that's not justice that reeks of rot and the fact that you have a key witness and you want to get him the heck out of here as quick as possible that's not justice that is a festering wound that needs to be cleaned and healed.

Sean P. Murphy140:19Well

Rep. Chellie Pingree140:23thank you again for being here today thank you for all of you and all of us as Democrats who are willing to be here today have our work cut out for us, and we all guarantee that we will work as hard as we can to bring justice to all of your families.

Rep. Robert Garcia140:38Thank you so much, Representative. Representative Beyer.

Rep. Don Beyer140:45Thank you, ranking member Blumenthal, ranking member Garcia. It's been an amazing afternoon. I want to thank Congresswoman Simon, too, for just simply stating it. Who do you call when the state kills your daughter or your sister or your father?

Rep. Don Beyer141:05There have been a lot of calls for justice today, but as best as I can discern, there's been no movement towards justice by any part of this administration. This can't stand indefinitely. and someday soon there will be a day of judgment, of atonement, perhaps even of reconciliation.

Rep. Don Beyer141:23Because our national soul cannot heal without this. I want to acknowledge two people who experienced this brutality firsthand in the district I represent in Virginia. Carolina Molina, a Virginian born and raised, shouted a very mild epithet at some ICE agents and one came over and pointed a pistol right in her face.

Rep. Don Beyer141:46She lived, but there's nothing normal or acceptable about a federal agent pointing a firearm at someone without a reason. My constituent, Jose Mejia, was so lucky. He was chased early morning by two men in dark clothes who didn't identify themselves, who ended up shooting him in the back with a taser.

Rep. Don Beyer142:08And the photos of him looked like he had been beaten by fists for minutes and minutes and minutes. THIS IS ONE OF THE UGLIEST FICTURES I'VE EVER SEEN. HE ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL WITH A BRAIN INJURY.

Rep. Don Beyer142:21THESE INSTANCE MUST BE INVESTIGATED. THE AGENTS WHO VIOLATED THE LAWS AND THE RULES HAD TO BE HOLD ACCOUNTABLE BUT THE CHALLENGE IS THAT THESE ARE JUST PART OF A MUCH LARGER PATTERN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS ADMINISTRATION DHS AGENTS HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN AT LEAST laws and the rules had to be held accountable But the challenge is that these are just part of a much larger pattern Since the beginning of this administration DHS agents have been involved in at least 30 shootings At least nine people have been killed and they've injured at least 14 others.

Rep. Don Beyer142:41And we owe it to those we've lost, to their families, to the people like Carolina and Jose, to get to the facts and demand transparency. Mr. Murphy, Attorney Murphy, what does an independent investigation provide that an internal ICE investigation cannot and shouldn't it be standard practice for an independent investigation when a federal law enforcement officer uses deadly force?

Sean P. Murphy143:05It absolutely should be standard and it should be immediate and it should be thorough. The benefit of an independent investigation is that you have a disinterested party, one who's not interested in finding an outcome and making the facts justify that outcome, but you're interested in finding the facts and seeing where they lead you, as justice provides.

Sean P. Murphy143:32One might say, you know, I wish there were some sort of federal investigation or bureau that could conduct these investigations. Well, we did have one in the Federal Bureau of Investigation until they decided not to or came in and did not to investigate ICE-related shootings.

Sean P. Murphy143:56It should be swift. It should be immediate. And there should be action by the civil justice attorneys at the Department of Justice as well to investigate the evidence and analyze whether it's sufficient for deprivation of rights under the color of law.

Sean P. Murphy144:14These are all considerations that were standard, but for whatever, well for very obvious reasons, are not present anymore and we need to bring them back.

Rep. Don Beyer144:24Thank you. Ms. Carlson, your video is a very important part of establishing an independent record of what happened to Alex. Why is it so important for the public to have this, especially since the video on body cameras that we have mandated not yet been turned on by the ICE officers?

Rep. Don Beyer144:44Well, I think documentation and transparency from any governing body of authority should be present. I think as citizens of the United States we should have the ability to exercise our constitutional rights including our right to film our right to be in the street our right to witness without assault Thank you, Representative.

Rep. Don Beyer145:08And next up is Representative Omar.

Rep. Ilhan Omar145:12Thank you, Senator Blumoth Hall and Representative Garcia for convening us for this important and timely conversation. And I'm really grateful to our panelists here today. For those who know me, I'm not known for being an emotional person.

Rep. Ilhan Omar145:34But representing Minnesota, representing the epicenter of where Metro Operation Metro Surge took place, having two of my constituents assassinated on broad daylight, it was the most emotional I've ever been in my entire life.

Rep. Ilhan Omar145:56And even the last two hearings that I've participated in, even today I had to walk out a few times, because it is hard to hear people account for losing their daughter, for losing their son, for losing their father, for losing their neighbor, for losing, you know, a young a young dad.

Rep. Ilhan Omar146:24I was around his age when when my first daughter was around his daughter's age. And to know that it all happened in the hands of your own government. And for those of us who, like Rep. Garcia talked about, who are immigrants in this country, who fled countries where people are routinely killed in the hands of their government.

Rep. Ilhan Omar146:59And as Representative Crockett said, you know, we come to the United States is is the land of free, the land of laws. There is an incredible constitution we all celebrate and take an oath to, not just when we become citizens, but when we do end up serving that country to give back because we are enormously grateful for it That you just never think that this country is going to be a country where its own government kills its own citizens and residents And then that government turns around and continues this sort of insane thing that you know happens in other countries where that government creates this propaganda.

Rep. Ilhan Omar147:54To say that the victims somehow were responsible for their assassination. That they somehow invited their government to publicly execute that. And I know that few of you here come from heritage of immigrants. I'm just wondering what to Mrs. Reyes, what that felt like not only when your son was killed by the government that serves you and an administration you voted for and then they developed a propaganda that your son deserved that death.

Rachel Reyes148:35It's profoundly devastating. It's very traumatic to experience that and to have to endure additional harm while you're trying to grieve the loss of your son that's no family should have to go through that at the hands of our own government like I mentioned earlier it's inhumane to do that to someone to treat someone like that and get away with it constantly that's horrible yeah

Rep. Ilhan Omar148:59and mr. Gensher in Renee's last interaction with federal law enforcement agents, it sounded like they had an interaction before. What did it feel like to know that this could have been agents that might have been following your sister that ultimately led to her being assassinated in broad daylight?

Brent Ganger149:27As opposed to her just being there that day?

Rep. Ilhan Omar149:31Right. The interaction that you witnessed in that tape.

Brent Ganger149:34Yeah, I mean I think it's It's difficult regardless, but I can't imagine feeling like your family members are being hunted down. And Renee was just trying to bear witness that day, and she was killed for it.

Brent Ganger149:49So I can't imagine what it would be like to actually be actively hunted down because of the color of your skin. And what does it feel like to know that Jonathan Ross, who killed your sister is still a law enforcement agent.

Brent Ganger150:05It's insane. It's absolutely insane. And it should have never happened in the first place. He should have never been hired. He should absolutely not still be given a badge again.

150:15Yeah.

Rep. Ilhan Omar150:20Stella, earlier when you and I spoke, and we were just recounting of the things that we've endured endured as Minneapolis residents and what we continue to endure, I think to you, thank to me and I said I'm glad that we are in this together.

Rep. Ilhan Omar150:34And I mean that in every way. I'm proud of the people that I represent and I know that they are proud of themselves in the way that they've represented themselves to the world. My question to you is similar to Brent's.

Rep. Ilhan Omar150:48There were previous interactions that were recorded that came to light with Alex and the agents. How does it feel to know that there is this conversation that again these agents might have been looking for him and that is why they ended up killing him in the way that they did?

Stella Carlson151:15I feel that they're often trying to spin a story that will justify or allow the public to smooth it along. I think my video stopped it in its tracks and they had to dig for a story.

Stella Carlson151:28That is how I feel about that detail. But I think regardless if anybody was in the streets doing observations and being harassed and watching people assaulted, we are human beings. And we can only get pushed to a certain limit before we start to have reactions.

Stella Carlson151:48But knowing Alex's character and getting to know his character, I'm well aware of the peaceful and civic duty forward person that he was and I think it's unfortunate that our government is trying to spin a tale in order to tell a story to cover their track.

Rep. Ilhan Omar152:09And to the Salgado brothers, it's one thing for people to say something bad about you. It another when it is a parent that you know has sacrificed so much for you to have what you have today to be where you are today And that defamation also comes in a time where they themselves can defend themselves What has it been like for you three brothers having to tell and remind people or to retell the story of who your dad was in the face of what has been said about him?

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado152:51Thank you, Ms. Representative Omar. honestly it makes us stick together it's brought us closer unexpectedly in weird ways because we need each other to lean on and we've really found that strength you know with it with my brothers with my uncles with my cousins with our community members our friends strangers neighbors and it's brought me closer to to my faith and just having that support from the community from every corner of Houston, of every corner of the United States, it means a lot.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado153:30And, yeah, I mean, you know, it gives us the strength, you know, as much stuff is being thrown on the wall, at the wall. You know, we know who our father was. Our dad, Lorenzo Salgado, was a good man, and we miss him every day.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado153:49and we'll make sure to carry his memory every day.

153:54Yeah.

Rep. Ilhan Omar153:55And that's all you guys need to know is that in your heart, you know your dad to be a good man, and it doesn't matter what people say about him. So we will also remember him as a good man because of you.

Rep. Ilhan Omar154:06Thank you. Mr. Murphy, as the lawyer and a federal law enforcement agent, You know, there's been much said. My Minnesota junior senator, Tina Smith, you know, was talking about how when local law enforcement commits these kind of shootings, there is accountability.

Rep. Ilhan Omar154:35there is legal accountability and there's civic accountability. People have sued for bodily harm. I have so many constituents, not only the ones that have been killed, but so many constituents that have their limbs broken, that have had their property seized that have been unlawfully detained What do we need to change in current law to hold federal agents accountable to the level that at least law enforcement is accountable?

Sean P. Murphy155:12We need to bring back the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. It may exist still, but it's a shell of its former self, and its mission has been completely corrupted. We need to allow the attorneys to investigate deprivation of rights under the color of law, especially those resulting in death, as all of these here today.

Sean P. Murphy155:39We also need to take a long, hard look at Section 1983, the section that basically provides what's known as qualified immunity to these agents. Now, look, as a former federal AUSA, I get the reasons why qualified immunity can exist, but we've now seen that it can't exist anymore in its current state.

Sean P. Murphy156:06It needs to change because, as it is, Americans are being killed. Immigrants are being killed under the color of law, and there's no recourse to that. So 1983, it needs to be amended to allow for the possibility of suing these federal agents for their crimes and misdeeds.

Rep. Ilhan Omar156:30I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Yes, accountability is overdue, and hopefully the senator and the representative will usher in a new era of accountability come January. I yield back.

Rep. Robert Garcia156:47Thank you. Thank you, Representative. And I want to, of course, thank all of our members of Congress. I particularly want to thank Senator Blumenthal for your leadership in convening us and having these joint hearings.

Rep. Robert Garcia156:59But most importantly, I just want to thank all of you for being here and for your courage and for your stories and for really centering how important it is to actually have justice and for there to be accountability.

Rep. Robert Garcia157:13sometimes it's hard to make those those asks those demands when there's so much pain and suffering that you are all continue and continue to experience and I think for us as a country we can move forward until there is real justice And I think for us in the oversight those that are doing oversight I think in today and in the future, it's going to be so important that we investigate these horrific crimes, these horrific actions, those by the agents, anyone in leadership that directed these actions, certainly those at the White House that have put in place the policies and removed the checks and balances that have allowed these horrors to occur to all of your family members.

Rep. Robert Garcia158:04And so thank you all for being here. And I will turn this over to Senator Blumenthal as we close.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal158:09Thank you, Representative Garcia. I want to thank you for your leadership and the partnership that we've developed in these several hearings now. first on the accountability question, I have actually proposed that civil liability be extended to federal agents and others so that they can be held accountable.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal158:29Their immunity right now is unacceptable. If local or state police committed these alleged crimes. I'm using the word alleged because I'm a former prosecutor. They could be held accountable. They would be held accountable.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal158:51But federal authorities have an immunity that is just completely unacceptable. Second point, I want to thank every one of you for not only your being here, but You're speaking to us so powerfully and movingly.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal159:13I'm not going to try to describe it in words because my words are inadequate, but your face and voice evokes, I hope, the better angels in America. Because we have seen the worst and as one of you said, sometimes the worst can bring out better instincts than others who want to do better.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal159:35And then And, you know, I sincerely hope there will be accountability, not only in the Court of Justice, but in the Court of Public Opinion, and maybe most important that there will be real reform.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal159:56We've demanded reform. fund DHS for months because the Republican majority would not accede to our request for reform. One of them was civil liability. And those reforms would have imposed on ICE the same kinds of standards that are imposed on state and local police.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal160:20Wearing badges, no masks, arrests in certain places only with warrants. These are common sense, everyday rules and standards, but we have none of them now in ICE. And we also are lacking real standards for recruitment and training.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal160:46Thousands of ICE agents have been hired without the proper screening. They've been recruited for qualities that make them potentially bad agents, not good ones. So, we're going to continue demanding action. As I said before, we're in it for the long haul, too.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal161:07And I hope you will continue to be in touch with us. I hope others will be encouraged to come forward. Whistleblowers have done so. And I'm hoping that we'll see more of the truth-telling that is necessary to hold officials at every level accountable, not just the ICE agents, but also the members of the Trump administration who are establishing these quotas, whether it's Steve Miller or Secretary Mullins.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal161:41The abuses here come from the top And so we will continue to pursue this work And I want to thank all of our colleagues most particularly our House members who stayed from the very beginning and made the trip over from the other side.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal162:01We really value this partnership, and I hope we'll continue it. Thank you and with that this forum is adjourned.

162:39Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.