In Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing, Durbin Slams Trump Administration For Wreaking Havoc On Immigrant Communities

In Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing, Durbin Slams Trump Administration For Wreaking Havoc On Immigrant Communities

In today's Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing, Durbin called out the Trump Administration for truncating training for DHS agents tasked with carrying out the President's cruel mass deportation scheme

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned witnesses in today's Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration hearing on fraud in Minnesota. Rather than examining causes of fraud across the United States-particularly within the Trump Administration, which has allowed its officials to financially profit off the government-the hearing attempted to degrade Somali Americans and refugees as the President continues to make racist attacks against them. In his questioning, Durbin exposed the Trump Administration's attacks on refugees and immigrants, and he called for more oversight of the Trump Administration's cruel immigration policies.

Durbin began his questioning by calling out the Trump Administration for dangerously truncating training for U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents who are in the field carrying out President's mass deportation scheme.

"The Big Beautiful Bill Act approved 18,500 new agents - ICE agents, 10,000, [and] 8,500 CBP agents. I believe that [DHS] Secretary Noem has identified their training period to be 47 days as a tribute to the President, the 47th President of the United States. When I talked to police chiefs and mayors back home, they said you cannot prepare an officer for contact with the public in that short a period of time. Do you have any thoughts on the subject?" Durbin asked David Bier, Director of Immigration Studies and Selz Foundation Chair at the CATO Institute.

Mr. Bier emphasized that cutting training for federal agents is dangerous, particularly as the Trump Administration has expanded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents' responsibilities and engagement with the public. Mr. Bier advocated for more training, not less, for these officers to ensure they follow the rule of law.

Durbin expressed concern that ICE agents are learning on the job rather than through rigorous training. He further questioned the Trump Administration's plans to build additional detention centers for immigrants arrested by DHS agents.

"What are they going to do with all of these people [DHS agents] as they are learning on-the-job with weapons in their hands, wearing masks so they can be identified? There is speculation in Washington about detention facilities. How many will there be?...Visualize the America they're designing for us in the future with those parameters," Durbin said to Mr. Bier.

Mr. Bier explained that the Trump Administration has continued to disregard the rule of law by arresting U.S. citizens and barring detainees from accessing their attorneys. Mr. Bier warned that if there is not additional oversight on the Trump Administration's actions, detainees, regardless if they are U.S. citizens, will not be given due process.

Durbin continued, noting that the Trump Administration has failed to go after "worst of the worst." Instead, U.S. citizens and immigrants without a criminal record have been arrested, detained, and deported by DHS.

"The President has been clear about what his goal is, hasn't he? He's told us he's going after murderers, rapists, terrorists… childhood predators, 'the worst of the worst,' he says. How are they doing on that score?" Durbin asked.

Mr. Brier pointed to the most recent data available, which has shown that only five percent of the people detained by DHS have a history of violent crime.

"One out of 20 fits that category [of having a history of violent crime]. So you have 19 people that are not culpable, not liable, not criminally responsible in any way, and they are the ones who are being swept up in this detention," Durbin said.

Mr. Bier expanded, saying that the Trump Administration assigns a threat level to each detainee. Only eight percent of detainees are categorized as the highest threat level while 73 percent of detainees are not given a threat level at all, showing that the Trump Administration itself does not believe that these detainees are dangerous.

Durbin concluded his speaking time by sharing the story of U.S. citizen and Chicagoan Marimar Martinez, who was shot five times by a CBP agent last fall during the peak of the Trump Adminsitration's so-called "Operation Midway Blitz." Ms. Martinez was initially charged with assaulting the CBP agent who shot her, and DHS issued public statements with her photo claiming that she was a "domestic terrorist" armed with a semi-automatic weapon, although she was never charged with a weapon violation. The charges against Ms. Martinez were later dropped, but the CBP agent that shot her later bragged about his shooting abilities and is still employed by the agency. DHS has not recanted or removed its public misrepresentations regarding Ms. Martinez.

"I commend to you the case of Marimar Martinez in October, who was shot on the streets of Chicago. A teacher at a Montessori school, she was shot in her car five times and survived, God knows how. She survived and what happened to the charges against her? Eight weeks later, dropped all charges. It could be because the vehicle she supposedly rammed had been moved from Chicago to Maine be repainted so there was no evidence at her trial. To think what happened to this 30-year-old woman's life, born and raised in Chicago, an American citizen, shot by [CBP] agents on the streets of Chicago. They bragged about it. One of the shooters said, 'I got five bullets in 7 holes.' He's very proud of himself," Durbin concluded his remarks.

Video of Durbin's questions are available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions are available here.

Footage of Durbin's questions are available herefor TV Stations.

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