During Monday’s Congressional Democrats’s briefing, Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) discussed President Trump's actions against immigrants and birthright citizens, and his continued deportation of illegal immigrants.
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NewsTranscript
00:01I recognize the distinguished gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Garcia of the Judiciary Committee.
00:06Thank you, Ranking Member Raskin and Senator Schiff, for convening this most timely and important hearing
00:14to spotlight Donald Trump's assault on our democracy and legal system,
00:19and thanks all the witnesses for standing for justice and democracy as well in your respective positions.
00:27As an immigrant and an organizer who hails from Chicago, who's fought for civil rights and against machine politics for decades,
00:35I understand that the rule of law has always been a work in progress in our country.
00:41Even before Donald Trump entered the political arena, many immigrants and working class people have felt
00:47that the law was written and enforced to benefit the wealthy and well-connected at their expense too often.
00:54But in the history of this country, the president has ever weaponized the law to this extent.
01:02No president has done that before for his personal benefit and in the service of outright authoritarianism.
01:10My colleagues have highlighted many important issues,
01:14and I want to focus on the administration's shameful and unlawful treatment of immigrants.
01:19There are too many abuses to name in five minutes.
01:24Trying to end birthright citizenship, which is written into the Constitution,
01:28attacking jurisdictions that have welcoming statuses,
01:32and which studies show lower crime rates and increased trust within those communities.
01:40Creating a draconian registration requirement, which goes into effect this week, by the way,
01:46on April 11th, detaining Mohammed Khalil and others solely because of their protected speech.
01:55And of course, lawlessly invoking the Alien Enemies Act and false pretenses to detain people
02:03and spend taxpayer dollars to send them to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
02:09One of those people is Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, a Maryland resident, father, and a metal worker,
02:16one the administration sent to El Salvador despite Judge Bosberg's ruling
02:21and despite a 2019 court order specifically prohibiting him from being removed to that country
02:29because of the risk of persecution.
02:31Last week, the administration admitted that its removal of Mr. Abrego-Garcia was a mistake.
02:40At a hearing on Friday, a senior career DOJ official, Erez Ravini, expressed frustration
02:48that the Trump administration had taken these actions and produced no evidence
02:53that Mr. Abrego-Garcia is gang-affiliated or that his removal was justified.
02:58The judge then ruled that the treatment of Mr. Garcia was shocking and illegal
03:03and ordered his return to the U.S.
03:07But instead of following the law, Attorney General Bondi suspended Mr. Ravini
03:13and after the Fourth Circuit refused to block the judge's order,
03:17the DOJ has now asked the Supreme Court to step in.
03:21And it will.
03:22A ruling has not been entered yet on the merits of the case.
03:26In a sea of authoritarian lawlessness, this case stands out.
03:31So I want to ask you, Ms. Young, in your experience and based on public reporting,
03:37do you think Mr. Ravini's actions warrant suspension?
03:41Absolutely not.
03:43And I know Erez Ravini, he is one of the most zealous advocates in the entire department,
03:48but he would never violate his ethical duties, including candor to the court.
03:53What does his suspension tell you about DOJ leadership and its credibility?
04:02It tells me that it values loyalty over the law, and I question DOJ's credibility right now.
04:09And do you believe that what DOJ has done to Mr. Abrego-Garcia represents a miscarriage of justice?
04:17I am not going to comment on a legal question like that.
04:22I understand. Thank you for that.
04:24We're living through one of the most shameful moments in our country's history,
04:29and it's incumbent on every one of us to fight back against this lawlessness.
04:34Your presence here is an important signal to the rest of the country that we are doing that.
04:41Thank you again, Ranking Member Raskin and Senator Schiff, for convening this hearing.
04:46I yield back.