Rep. Salinas Calls Out Trump Administration’s Immigration Enforcement Abuses Against Women

Click hereto watch Rep. Salinas' full remarks.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) hosted a Democratic Women's Caucus shadow hearing on immigration and women's safety, where she condemned the Trump Administration's cruel and illegal immigration enforcement agenda and highlighted how women and families in Oregon's Sixth Congressional District have been harmed by ICE abuses. Congresswoman Salinas shared the stories of two constituents: Marta, a survivor of violence who was detained by ICE for eight months despite being eligible for a U-visa, and Maria, a U.S. citizen who was violently stopped by ICE agents while driving to buy a birthday cake for her grandson. Maria suffered a concussion, torn rotator cuff, and bruised ribs after ICE agents broke her window, pulled her from her car, and left without getting her medical help. The hearing highlighted the harms caused by Trump's immigration policies and explored pathways to strengthen safety, dignity, and protections for all women.

A transcript of Salinas' remarks is available below:

Good afternoon, and thank you to all of our witnesses today, and thank you to the Democratic Women's Caucus for organizing this shadow hearing and really for just being here to fight back against the Trump Administration's cruel and illegal immigration enforcement efforts.

Throughout the second Trump Administration, we've heard stories about how ICE agents have trampled on the Constitution, abused immigrants, and made our communities less safe. Today, we are here to shine a light on how Trump's immigration enforcement is threatening, harming, and yes, killing women.

Before Donald Trump stepped foot in the Oval Office for his second term, he campaigned on a mass deportation agenda. He claimed that his administration would only focus on individuals who have committed the most violent crimes, but Trump lied to the American people. Instead, his administration has terrorized our communities and hurt women across the country, including in my own district. I want to share a couple of stories with you.

Last August, ICE agents unlawfully detained my constituent, Marta, while she was on her way to work to pick blueberries. Marta came to the United States in 2015, fleeing violence in Guatemala. Before coming to the U.S., she endured unimaginable violence, including being gang raped when she was just 14 years old. Sadly, when Marta came to the U.S., she continued to suffer abuse. Marta's partner abused her and her daughter before he was convicted in 2022.

Luckily, because Marta worked with law enforcement to report and investigate her partner's abuse, she became eligible for a U visa. This type of visa allows victims of crimes to remain legally in the country. This visa also should have protected her from being detained by ICE, but that's not what happened.

Trump's ICE agents detained Marta for EIGHT MONTHS before she was finally released last month after her attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition. While I am thrilled that she is now back at home, it is UNACCEPTABLE that she was detained in the first place and separated from her two children. As a mother, this enrages me. I am FURIOUS. Marta came to the U.S. in search of safety and a better life, but Trump took that away from her and endangered her further.

Another one of my constituents, Maria, is a U.S. citizen who was driving to the store to buy a cake for her grandson's birthday when four ICE agents stopped her. They broke her window, pulled her out of the car, and threw her to the ground, resulting in a concussion, torn rotator cuff, and bruised ribs. The ICE agents who did this to her left the scene and didn't even bother to get her medical help. This does not make women safe.

These two incidents are not isolated. They are just two of many stories from my district that reveal ICE's broader abuses across the country. There are thousands of stories like these cross the U.S. Taken together, they reflect an ICE agency that is out of control, abusive, and treating the Constitution as an afterthought.

Since Donald Trump emboldened ICE and CBP agents, women's safety across the country has been at risk. As I mentioned earlier, women have been killed, abused, sexually assaulted, unlawfully deported, separated from their children and families, and forced to remain in detention centers while they are pregnant, nursing, or postpartum despite the fact that ICE's own internal policies say that should only occur in very limited instances.

ICE must be held accountable-and so must this President-for these atrocities and the pain and trauma they are inflicting on Marta, Maria, their families, and countless individuals across the country.

We will fight to ensure that justice is served. Women can and will save women.

Thank you.