HORRIFIC ICE ABUSES

On 2026-02-04, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5) delivered a floor speech titled "HORRIFIC ICE ABUSES" in the House. The speech addressed immigration and also covered healthcare, taxes.

HORRIFIC ICE ABUSES

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2016-H2021] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HORRIFIC ICE ABUSES (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Espaillat of New York was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.) General Leave Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New York? There was no objection. Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to forcefully speak against the Trump administration's horrific ICE [[Page H2017]] abuses and to demand accountability for the deaths of 45 individuals who have died within the custody of DHS since the start of 2025. Mr. Speaker, 2025 was the deadliest year for ICE detention in two decades with 37 total deaths. Already in 2026, eight more individuals have died, including the murders of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. The American public is outraged at the brutality of ICE, and they demand accountability. According to polls, 76 percent of Americans, including 79 percent of Latinos, have seen the video footage of the murder of Renee Nicole Good. Mr. Speaker, 57 percent of Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, disapprove of the way ICE is enforcing immigration laws. Put simply, ICE is out of control. The number of people with no criminal records being detained is 16 times greater than in previous administrations. Mr. Speaker, 92 percent of individuals recently held in ICE detention have no criminal conviction whatsoever. More than 170 U.S. citizens have been wrongfully detained at raids and protests. More than 20 of them were held incommunicado for a specific period of time without being able to call their loved ones or an attorney. DHS is now claiming they can enter anyone's home without a warrant signed by a judge, clearly ignoring the Fourth Amendment of our Constitution. A recent memo distorting the truth was circulated to our offices. Still, congressional Republicans continue to fund this rogue agency without restraint. Congress already gave ICE $75 billion through the 2025 reconciliation bill. They paid for the slush fund by cutting healthcare and nutrition assistance while giving tax cuts to rich millionaires and billionaires. This Chamber has decided to continue funding for ICE without any accountability whatsoever. As we begin negotiating to fund DHS for the rest of the year, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is unified in demanding real accountability provisions, including requiring ICE agents to identify themselves, prohibiting agents from wearing masks during enforcement, restricting the use of deadly force, strengthening hiring and training standards, enforcing humanitarian standards in ICE custody, and protecting sensitive locations. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus stand united in opposition to giving ICE one more cent without meaningful reform. In fact, I think ICE should be dismantled altogether. We are finalizing a bill that would do just that. It would rescind the agency's funding and rebuild it from the ground up. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar). {time} 1710 Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, two of my constituents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, beloved neighbors and community members, were murdered by Federal immigration enforcement agents. These are not distant headlines. These were beloved community members fighting to protect their neighbors. Alex Pretti was a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA who cared for veterans. He was a healer, and he should be alive. Renee Good was a 37-year-old beloved wife, mother, and community member. She should be alive. Kristi Noem's DHS must be held accountable. We cannot continue to operate as if this terror is acceptable. We cannot allow a Federal agency--one that was created for the purpose of terrorizing--to function as an occupying force in our communities. Real accountability starts with abolishing ICE, impeaching Kristi Noem, and rethinking how we enforce immigration policy in this country. We cannot stop there. We must demand that those who are responsible for terrorizing our communities are investigated thoroughly, not by the agencies that oversee them but by truly independent authorities. We have seen Federal agencies block State investigators and stonewall accountability. That is unacceptable. Our system of justice cannot tolerate a situation where people are killed and the only response is silence, spin, or justification from the administration's officials. Minnesota was once known as a place of refuge. It has now been turned into a war zone by a Federal Government that has lost sight of the values that make America great. Everything we love--our communities, our rights, our Constitution, and our humanity--is on the line right now. We have to fight like our future depends on it because it does. Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia). Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am a lawyer. I have served as a judge. I know what the rule of law demands. What this administration is doing with ICE is not enforcement. It is lawlessness. It is cruelty. They have turned ICE into a force of masked thugs. In my community in the Houston area, people are paying the price. Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres died in ICE custody near Houston. DHS claims it was heart failure, but this administration has shown such contempt for the truth that we can't believe a darn thing they say. His family is demanding answers, and so are we. I have requested the death report, but, Mr. Speaker, ICE has yet to respond. Under Trump, as noted earlier, 43 people have died in DHS custody or at the hands of DHS agents or their contractors. This is not a coincidence. This is cruelty masquerading as policy. In Minneapolis, two Americans--Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti-- were murdered by Federal immigration agents. We have all seen the videos. We know both deaths were completely unjustified. We know that this was not domestic terrorism. The American people know it, too, no matter how much this President tells us not to believe our very own eyes. Instead of accountability, the felon in the White House rushed to smear and lie about the victims. It is a disgrace. It is shameful. It is immoral. This administration is terrorizing our communities, threatening our cities, trampling on the Constitution, and tearing our country apart. It must stop, and it must stop now. Congress must act. Stop ICE now. Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez). Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, in the span of 12 weeks, our country was shaken by the tragic killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who lost their lives because of the violent and reckless choices that the Trump administration has made. When I went to Minneapolis shortly after Renee Good's killing, I heard firsthand how the Trump administration's dangerous escalation of immigration enforcement is a threat not just to Minnesota but to every community and every American. Since Trump took office, at least six people have died during enforcement activities by Federal agents. People are not just dying in our streets. They are also dying in immigration detention centers run by ICE and private companies that have been empowered to profit off of detaining mothers, fathers, and children who pose no threat to our communities. Just last year alone, 32 people died in ICE detention, including Jean Wilson Brutus, who had been detained at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey. While this administration claims they have our communities' best interests in mind, they have already proved through their actions from New Jersey to Minnesota and across the country that safety is not their priority. No one is safe in Trump's America, not mothers, not fathers, not our elders, and not even our children. That is why we must continue to stand up to fight for our communities and why we must drive Trump's paramilitary out of our communities, why we must end ICE, why we must end private detentions, why we must remove Secretary Noem, why we must remove Stephen Miller, and why we must continue to fight for the soul of our Nation. Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko). Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus for convening this very important discussion this evening. Over the past year, the Trump administration has pursued immigration [[Page H2018]] enforcement actions, actions that are deplorable, inhumane, and, indeed, deadly. Last month, in my district in New York's Capital Region, a family of five, including an 8-month-old who was reportedly a U.S. citizen, was detained and deported after ICE entered their apartment without-- without--a judicial warrant, a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. In December, our Afghan community was repeatedly targeted, including ICE arresting a father and son after they exited a mosque following morning prayer. People who fled the Taliban, fearing for their lives and their families' lives, are now wondering if they will be picked up next by ICE. This is not who we are as a nation. We are supposed to uphold the values of freedom, the values of democracy, and the American Dream. Instead, the very people who came here in pursuit of that dream are afraid to attend school, go to their jobs, go to church, and even leave their homes for fear of being hunted down, detained, and deported. Nowhere have the effects of ICE's operations been clearer than in Minneapolis. The