HONORING REVEREND FERNANDO SIABA

On 2025-11-20, Representative Delia C. Ramirez (D-IL-3) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING REVEREND FERNANDO SIABA" in the House.

HONORING REVEREND FERNANDO SIABA

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 196 (Thursday, November 20, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 196 (Thursday, November 20, 2025)] [House] [Pages H4861-H4863] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] {time} 1920 HONORING REVEREND FERNANDO SIABA (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mrs. Ramirez of Illinois was recognized for 30 minutes.) General Leave Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for all Members to have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order hour. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Knott). Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Illinois? There was no objection. Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like to start my Special Order hour by honoring someone who has been monumental in my life. I rise today to honor the life and legacy of my pastor and friend, the one and only Reverend Fernando Siaba. It is hard to fully describe the impact that he had on my life and how much I will miss him blessing me with ``God bless''; ``Dios te bendiga.'' Pastor Siaba lived a life that exemplified love for God and for his neighbors. I met Pastor Siaba at Humboldt Park United Methodist Church when I was just 15 years old. He invested heavily in my spiritual and professional development, both as my pastor and as board chair of Humboldt Park Social Services, now Center for Changing Lives, the organization that I had the honor to be the executive director for, for 9 years. Mentoring leaders, particularly women of faith and leadership, was one of Pastor Siaba's greatest gifts. Over his impactful career, he served eight congregations. Even after his retirement, he continued serving by mentoring pastors, being registrar for the John Wesley Theological Institute, volunteering at a food pantry, and leading at Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church. Pastor Siaba had a gift for thoughtful planning. He was so detail- oriented, humble, and truly the best listener. In true Pastor Siaba fashion, he planned his own funeral, and he requested his eulogist preach on John 1:16: ``From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.'' While he may have defined his life by grace, we all benefited from the grace he extended to us. He wanted the best for all of us. He advocated for immigrants, people who were unhoused, and people who were struggling with substance abuse. He truly lived a life of love and action. He taught us to love God, to serve our community, to seek justice, and to welcome our neighbors with open arms. Today, on behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, that young person that he mentored, supported, and believed in has the greatest honor to commend him here on the House floor, in the House of Representatives, to commend the life of Reverend Fernando Siaba for his legacy of love, joy, and service. I express my sincere condolences to his wife, Judy Siaba; his three daughters, Erika, Marta, and Ruth; and his entire beloved family. May his memory be a blessing that sustains our fight for justice, and may he be welcomed in the company of saints and ancestors as a good and faithful servant. Mr. Speaker, may Pastor Siaba rest in peace. Honoring Marisol Velez Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to honor someone else. Today, I want to honor Marisol Velez, known as Pinqy Ring. She is a rooted, revolutionary Puerto Rican emcee from Chicago, decolonizing minds as a rapper, as an educator, as a mentor, and as a speaker. As a cultural worker and disruptor, Pinqy's music ignites our imaginations and sustains our struggles against displacement and erasure. As an educator and mentor, she shapes the next generation of creative changemakers through culturally rooted programming and radical care. Pinqy is a GRAMMY U mentor. She sits on the National Advisory Board for Music Will and serves as a U.S. Hip-Hop Cultural Ambassador to facilitate cultural diplomacy programming and conflict transformation music. In her roles, she is shaping the first-ever K-12 hip-hop guidelines with the Hip-Hop Education Center. On behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, it is my honor to commend Marisol Velez for helping young people find their truth unapologetically and share it creatively. Now, here in the House of Representatives, her name will live on. I congratulate Pinqy. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Underwood). Operation Midway Blitz Can Never Happen Again Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because what happened in Illinois during Operation Midway Blitz can never happen again. The last time this Chamber convened before House Republicans took an 8-week vacation was September 19. This is the first chance that I have had to address the House about the outrageous abuses of power our community has endured for the past 2 months. Under Kristi Noem's so-called leadership, Department of Homeland Security agents have terrorized my district. Their reckless and incompetent methods have traumatized families and endangered entire neighborhoods. No community in America should live under siege by the Federal Government as mine has. Federal immigration officers and National Guard personnel, weaponized and politicized by the Trump administration, swept into my district with no communication, no coordination, no transparency, no accountability, and no regard for public safety. They came barging into our towns, ignored our laws, and trampled on our civil and human rights. In Aurora, a Federal agent pepper-sprayed a constituent of mine directly in the face from inches away while she was standing completely still with her hands at her sides, unarmed. Elsewhere in my district, we heard reports that Federal officers used an elementary school as a staging area, positioning armed tactical teams on school grounds in full view of children. [[Page H4862]] Parents are afraid to leave their homes after hearing about neighbors abducted by masked agents while walking their kids to school, leaving the children unattended by the side of the road. Workers fear going to their jobs. Our economy is suffering. Local businesses have seen foot traffic collapse. Despite the Trump administration's claims of targeting ``the worst of the worst,'' their immigration enforcement operations have been a chaotic mess, sweeping up U.S. citizens, legal immigrants, and people with no criminal record. I was horrified when Federal agents rappelled down from helicopters to a Chicago apartment complex in the middle of the night, smashed windows and doors, threw flash-bang grenades, dragged children from their beds, and zip-tied and detained U.S. citizens for hours. Yet, after all that, Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone detained that night. In a recent court filing, DHS listed 614 people arrested as part of Operation Midway Blitz, and only 16 of them have criminal histories of any kind. That is 2.6 percent. The other 598 people have no criminal record. What is happening in Illinois is called racial profiling. Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol agent who led Operation Midway Blitz, literally told a reporter that agents arrest people based on ``how they look.'' Masked officers are violently targeting people, including U.S. citizens, because their brown skin and their black hair make them seem suspicious. This is a complete failure. Our Founding Fathers warned us about this type of government overreach after seeing how a desperate King's troops could trample on our unalienable right to liberty. Yet, as we approach our Nation's 250th birthday, we are confronting a similar tyranny. That is not all. Many of those arrests have essentially disappeared. Members of Congress could not get basic information from DHS about where they took our constituents. During the Republican shutdown, DHS leadership chose to furlough the liaisons that we rely on to locate detainees and resolve urgent casework. When a constituent reached out because her husband was denied access to medical care in a detention facility, my office's emails bounced back and our calls went unanswered. Weeks later, I am still waiting for a response. {time} 1930 However, the shutdown didn't stop DHS agents from harassing citizens and using force on peaceful protesters, because the administration deemed those violent tactics essential. That was not an accident. That was a policy choice. I say to my fellow Americans, this is not what legitimate law enforcement looks like. Operation Midway Blitz disregarded Illinois State laws, Federal laws, and the U.S. Constitution. Due process, a foundational constitutional right for all people in this country, went out the window. Local police and officials were kept in the dark. People were snatched off the streets seemingly at random. Many of my constituents felt like they were being hunted because of the language that they speak or the color of their skin, simply because they needed to run an errand at the hardware store or walk their kids to school. This is not about public safety. When the President has the power to terrorize American communities for his political purposes, it makes us all less safe. It makes us all less free. The people of Illinois deserve answers, and Americans deserve better. Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Underwood for her hard work, her courage, her commitment, and for speaking truth to power in the people's House. Mr. Speaker, when I look around at every single chair here, I think about the fact that Members of Congress, every one of us represents about 700,000 people, but together we represent every single person that lives in this country. That has got to be the greatest honor and privilege for anyone to be able to serve humanity in this way. Therefore, it is important for me to think about the people's House, about the fact that we went 43 days without being in session. The Speaker put us into