Rep. García Presses DHS Secretary Noem During House Judiciary Committee Oversight Hearing

***TEXT AND VIDEO***

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Jesús "Chuy" García (IL-04), member of the House Judiciary Committee, today questioned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem during a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing. Congressman García first pressed Secretary Noem to respond under oath about the false claims that an ICE agent sustained "severe injuries" after killing Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, and about smearing Marimar Martinez, a U.S. citizen and teacher's aide who was shot five times by a CBP agent, as a "domestic terrorist."

"You symbolize the cruelty, corruption, and incompetence of this Administration and the Republican Party. Your thugs at DHS brutalize the American people, and you lie and smear victims to cover up these crimes. Let's talk about two examples in my district," said Congressman García.

Congressman García asked Secretary Noem if she still stands by the claim that the ICE officer that shot Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez on September 12, sustained "severe injuries" during the traffic stop when Silverio ended up being shot and killed by the ICE agent.

Secretary Noem said she didn't know anything about the case.

García then showed video evidence where the ICE agent admits he was not seriously injured.

"What we just heard was the agent describing his injuries as 'nothing major.' Which means your agency lied to cover up the unjustified murder of Silverio by an ICE agent," said García.

Congressman García then asked about Marimar Martinez, a U.S. citizen who was shot five times by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum. This is a case that Secretary Noem had previously denied knowing anything about, even when her own agency issued a statement on October 4, calling Marimar a "domestic terrorist" and claiming she had rammed the agent's vehicle with her car.

Congressman García showed video evidence of the five shots against a U.S. citizen, and the agents saying they were going to make contact before ramming their vehicle into Marimar's. They "immediately lied about it and then shot her in cold blood. And then DOJdismissed all charges against her. (...) So once again, DHS lied to cover up its crimes," said García.

Secretary Noem tried to deflect and refused to admit DHS lied about Marimar's case as well.

"Let me be clear: you are a disgrace to this nation, and you should resign or face impeachment. And every crime, including the murder of Silverio and the shooting of Marimar, must be fully investigated and prosecuted," said García.

García concluded, "...the agency has been rogue and lawless since its creation in 2002. It was set up to expand surveillance and undermine civil rights by falsely labeling immigrants and protesters as terrorists, as we just saw. That's exactly what it's doing, and exactly why DHS must be dismantled and the immigration system must be rebuilt from the bottom up. That's why Americans everywhere believe that this agency has gone too far."

Video of Congressman García's questions in Committee can be found here.

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