Fighting Dhs Immigration Raids

Floor Speech

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Ramirez for yielding. I appreciate her leadership.

It is so important that we do not allow the hostile acts of this administration to be normalized. We have to condemn, resist, and reject them at every turn.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the targeted and the marginalized, on behalf of our immigrant siblings who have had their bodies assaulted, who have had their lives disrupted, who have had their families separated, who have had their humanity erased and their dignity denied, the men, women, and children who have been ripped from our communities, thrown into cold cells, and shipped off to countries many have never known.

The Trump administration would have you believe that they are pursuing hardened criminals. Yet, according to ICE's own data, 85 percent of the people detained in Massachusetts, my home State, have no criminal record.

Rogue, masked Federal agents are violating people's civil rights, glorified bullies masquerading as public servants. They terrorize our communities in the name of so-called law and order, while detaining and deporting our neighbors without due process.

That hypocrisy is not a coincidence. It is a deliberate, resounding message from an administration that believes that following the Constitution is a mere suggestion.

My office has documented hundreds of cases marked by excessive force, racial profiling, and the unlawful arrest of legal residents.

Just last month, rogue Federal agents descended on the Allston neighborhood in Massachusetts' Seventh District, a diverse community that is home to small businesses and music venues that are welcoming to all. These Federal agents targeted a local car wash to harass and abduct hardworking community members. Among them were five women who were never afforded the chance to show their work permits and a 67- year-old man who had disappeared for 3 days without access to his medication.

Families waited in anguish to hear from their loved ones, many of whom reported not having enough to eat and being unable to shower-- cruel, callous, inhumane, and unlawful.

In these trying times, I am not defeated. I am fortified and resolved to fight back. The only way to beat a dictator is with defiance. Together, we will protect our communities and defend our immigrant neighbors and their families.

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