US Senator Adam Schiff on Monday shared stories from three Californians who say they were wrongfully detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during enforcement actions carried out under President Donald Trump’s second term.
According to the individuals interviewed by Schiff, they were held for days without access to family members or legal counsel and allege they were mistreated before eventually being released. Their cases have raised concerns about the scope and safeguards of stepped-up immigration enforcement operations.
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.
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