Durbin Denounces Recent Surge In Trump Administration’s Cruel Campaign Against Immigrants

Durbin Denounces Recent Surge In Trump Administration's Cruel Campaign Against Immigrants

Durbin highlights reporting by the New York Times that the FBI has informed its agents around the country that they will no longer investigate alleged assaults by immigration agents

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, denounced the recent surge in the Trump Administration's cruel campaign against immigrants following the fatal shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Durbin also called out the Trump Administration's false narrative that federal agents are only going after the "worst of the worst" during these aggressive immigration raids.

"Roughly a year ago, President Trump made good on his 'MASS DEPORTATION NOW!' promise. It was a campaign pledge when he unleashed ICE into cities across the country to carry out his brutal immigration crackdown. In its wake, including in the City of Chicago, the so-called 'worst of the worst' … He said it over and over and over again. Turns out, the 'worst of the worst' didn't fit in that category at all," Durbin said. "Who were they? Some were U.S. citizens, legal residents, and people with no prior criminal history whatsoever-none. And the Administration brutally carried out this political theater by deploying military-grade weapons and using overwhelming displays of force that left communities-and our country-on edge."

Durbin continued, "At its peak, tensions boiled over with the killings of two American citizens at that time… Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. After the public outcry, these ICE raids were quietly scaled back by the Trump Administration and Stephen Miller. But now, Stephen Miller and Secretary of [the] Department of Homeland Security Mullin are quietly resuming these efforts, with immigration arrests surging this month to the highest levels in this Administration. I assume they felt that America just wouldn't notice if they went back in business. But we have."

Durbin then recounted the fatal shootings of Mr. Araujo and Mr. Guerrero. Mr. Araujo had lived in the country for more than 30 years and was not the intended target of the operation. He is survived by his children, who are U.S. citizens. Instead of investigating, ICE agents detained the witnesses. The Harris County District Attorney has said that these witnesses are critical to the investigation.

Mr. Guerrero is survived by his wife and their three-year-old daughter, who will now grow up without a father. The ICE agent who fatally shot Mr. Guerrero was hired to work for ICE by the Trump Administration. He has a history of domestic violence, abuse, and mental health issues. It is not clear whether ICE simply failed to adequately vet him-or identified the issues and hired him anyways.

"DHS quickly rushed to claim that both shootings were justified, without any body-worn camera footage or any serious investigation," Durbin said. "These fatalities I've talked about could have been avoided. These people could be alive today. After the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, we [Democrats in Congress] tried, time and again, to get our Republican colleagues to sit down and agree on just some basics… At every instance we tried to make these changes-simple, commonsense law enforcement changes-the Republicans said no. Instead, the Administration has lurched in the opposite direction-enabling these abuses to continue."

On the heels of these back-to-back killings, ICE temporarily paused traffic stops, but President Trump quickly took to social media to personally reverse that decision. He said, "The men and women of ICE are doing a great job" and "we CANNOT give up one of ICE's most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!"

"Being pulled over and shot in your car has to be part of the strategy of ICE, according to the President. Traffic stops have been among the deadliest tactics during this President's mass raids. But apparently, he doesn't care. And, according to the New York Times, just yesterday, the FBI has informed its agents around the country that the FBI would no longer investigate alleged assaults by immigration agents," Durbin said. "Why is that important? I'll tell you: this change will sharply limit law enforcement scrutiny of ICE agents. For years, the Department of Justice's involvement in officer-involved shootings has provided an independent set of eyes and often uncovered crucial facts, including misconduct by federal officers-misconduct that has been evident in recent cases."

Durbin continued, "The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General has at least agreed to investigate the use of excessive force by ICE agents. But it is unacceptable that the government's top law enforcement agency, the FBI, has reportedly chosen to ignore its mission to enforce the law and instead does the White House's bidding."

Durbin concluded, "At a time when the American people are demanding more transparency and answers, the Administration gives us less. We mourn the loss of these beloved community members, and Senate Democrats will continue to call for an end to these fatal raids."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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