Horrific Ice Abuses
Floor Speech
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Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from New York, Representative Espaillat, for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I stand in memory of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, who were murdered for standing up for what is right and exercising their constitutional First Amendment right to speech and assembly, and in the case of Mr. Pretti, his Second Amendment right to carry arms. I also stand in honor of the 38 people who have died in ICE custody since Kristi Noem became the head of DHS. Although they are not household names, their lives are no less valuable, and we cannot forget them just because we didn't see it happen.
Being detained in an ICE facility should not equal a death sentence.
I recently conducted an oversight visit in Tacoma, and I met with four of my detained constituents. One detainee had lost over 12 pounds since November. He achieved up to a Ph.D. here in the United States. He has four United States citizen children. His wife is a United States citizen. Because of a paperwork error, he will be deported to a country he has never been to and he does not speak the language. He is a deacon in his church. He is a good member of our community, not the worst of the worst.
Another one of my constituents just turned 18 and was so terrified he couldn't even answer questions. He was afraid to say anything. He will be deported because he is caught up in a broken immigration system.
We will not let them disappear into the system. We will not stand by and let ICE bring more violence to our cities and open detention facilities in rural communities like Newport, Oregon, that I represent. We will not normalize cruelty as public policy.
While innocent people continue to die in detention centers and on our streets, we must continue to speak up and fight for real change.
The Constitution is clear. It guarantees due process. It guarantees the right to assembly. It guarantees the right to bear arms.
I took an oath to uphold the Constitution. I would ask that my colleagues do the same and uphold the oath that they are obliged to stand up for.
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