00:00Thank you so much for coming in. Javier, it's a pleasure to meet you. Hi Andrea, how are you?
00:06George, nice to meet you. Good to meet you. Good to meet you as well.
00:09Thank you so much for having the courage to come and testify. Why don't we come on inside and sit down together.
00:18This week I met with three Californians who were all unlawfully detained by ICE.
00:24I'd like you to know their names and their stories. George Redes, Andrea Velas, and Javier Ramirez.
00:32Well, I'm so grateful that you're willing to speak out and that you have the courage to do so.
00:38You were speaking for obviously a lot of other people that are going through similar hellish experiences.
00:44Part of what they hope to do is to intimidate people, to cause fear to go through our communities.
00:52And, you know, the idea that you were treated this way by representatives of the government is just awful.
01:02And I'm shocked by it. I'm shocked that this is happening to others.
01:08So thank you for speaking out. I'm sorry for what you've gone through.
01:13Thank you for listening and wanting to listen and share my story. It means a lot to share our story.
01:18It means a lot. So thank you.
01:20So these are U.S. citizens carrying a passport, carrying real identification, driver's licenses.
01:28I identified myself as a U.S. citizen and a veteran.
01:31I plead with them. I'm a U.S. citizen. I was born here.
01:34They ignored me as I repeated it again and again that I am a U.S. citizen.
01:39And yet they were literally taken down by ice.
01:42Agents smashed my window, sprayed tear gas and pepper spray into my car, dragged me out.
01:47Forced to the ground.
01:49But he grabbed me and slammed me onto the sidewalk.
01:52They were painfully detained. They were held incommunicati. That is, they couldn't speak to their family or counsel.
01:59And after that, I was taken to a detention center and held for three days without charges.
02:04No phone call, no lawyer, no medical care, even though my skin burned from the chemicals.
02:09They weren't given explanation or justification.
02:12I asked repeatedly, what was I being arrested for? Only to hear the haunting response, we don't know. We're trying to figure it out.
02:21Andrea Velez had even trouble getting food or water, having to borrow a cup of water from one of the others who were being detained at the same time.
02:30While detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center, I was unable to access drinking water without first purchasing a cup. I was thirsty.
02:38Later, another detainee leaving that day donated a cup and a sport allowing me to eat dinner.
02:43These are stories that we're hearing from all over the country. Stories that are possible both because of the abuses of the administration
02:50and because the Supreme Court of the United States has decided to let these harms continue until the legal challenges work their way all the way through the courts.
03:01It just horrifies me. I can't believe we're at a place in this country where folks can be just grabbed off the street, tackled to the ground,
03:13where American citizens now feel, many of them, that they have to carry their identification papers with them in this country.
03:22We've got masked agents running around engaging this kind of conduct.
03:27We have to continue pushing back against these lawless raids and this inhuman treatment of citizens and non-citizens alike.
03:35Since that day, I no longer feel safe. Though I try to detach from my trauma, our community continues to be targeted simply because of the color of our skin.
03:44The entire experience violated the very principles I fought to defend.
03:48Today, I live with a constant shadow of anxiety, fearing that this could happen again, not just to me but to my children or my loved ones.
03:57I'm so glad that these Californians are now safe and back with their families, but there are so many other stories like this
04:04and so many others who have not been reunited with their families.
04:08I've talked to, for example, the children of farm workers who have been separated from their fathers, who were deported away from them.
04:15I've talked to spouses who have had their husbands taken away from them, stopped at random traffic stops.
04:21People have been working in the fields for decades, putting food on our tables, mistreated in this way.
04:27Our country was founded by immigrants. It was made strong by immigrants. Our strength is in the diversity of our people.
04:34We cannot treat our fellow human beings this way. Here is what these brave Californians who were willing to come to Washington to testify to put a human face on this national tragedy had to say.
04:48Here's their call to action in committee.
04:51And if this is how U.S. citizens are treated, imagine the cruelty inflicted on those without.
04:57I urge you to hold eyes in every agency accountable for their vile, disgusting, and inhumane treatment of our Hispanic and immigrant community.
05:05The entire experience violated the very principles I fought to defend. The point is not to look backward, but forward.
05:12What can we do together to ensure this never happens again? This is not about politics. It is about principle.
05:17It's about fixing a flaw that undermines the freedoms we claim to protect.
05:21I still believe in the flag. I still believe in the ideals that make this country worth fighting for.
05:26But belief alone is not enough. We need action, we need accountability, and we need laws that reflect the values we say we stand for.
05:33I share my story not just for myself, but for everyone that has been unjustly treated, for those whose voice have been silenced.
05:47For those who can be judged.
05:48I share my story.
05:53You
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