Rep. Aguilar questioned witnesses at the shadow hearing about how Trump’s unlawful immigration policies and enforcement are making communities less safe 

Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-33) recently joined House Democrats in a field hearing and press conference about the Trump Administration’s unlawful immigration actions and dangerous ICE raids across the country that are making communities and individuals less safe. You can watch a video of the hearing here and the press conference here. You can read Rep. Aguilar’s remarks from the press conference below:

Thank you, Ranking Member Jayapal, Mayor Johnson, Commissioners, President Preckwinkle and my colleagues as well. Democrats are laser-focused on ensuring everyone in our communities feels safe and secure from crime. But Donald Trump and his Republican henchmen, time and time again, have been more focused on demonizing the entire immigrant community, rather than working on bipartisan solutions to improve public safety. From day one, we saw how unserious Donald Trump was when he pardoned 1,500 January 6th rioters from prison, many of whom are violent criminals, pedophiles and domestic abusers. One of those charged, just this week, threatened the life of Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. This shows the Trump Administration’s backwards priorities—pardoning violent criminals and going after people whose only crime is that they may be undocumented. 

Instead of targeting criminals, President Trump is unleashing agents across this country and disappearing people off the streets without due process. In many cases, detaining U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants with no criminal history. In my community of San Bernardino, California, a masked immigration agent opened fire on an unarmed vehicle in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The person was so scared for their life, they called the local police department to ask for help. This failed approach to so-called immigration enforcement is not only wrong, but it’s un-American. And it’s dangerous because actual criminals can slip through the cracks while innocent people are punished. 

By targeting people based on how they look and the language they speak, the Trump Administration is causing chaos, inciting protests and making it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs. This isn’t about law and order, it’s about cruelty and chaos. Let’s not forget, Donald Trump and Republicans have actually cut funding for law enforcement and public safety, not made it stronger. Democrats will continue to stand up and speak out against these cruel and dangerous actions and work tirelessly on ways that actually keep Americans safe.