The Trump administration’s ICE raids across southern California have had disastrous effects on the region’s immigrants and swept up US citizens in the process, community leaders and residents said at a congressional hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.
Andrea Velez, an American arrested by US immigration officials over the summer, described how she was accosted by masked agents while on her way to work. She said she was charged with assaulting an officer and held for two days in a federal detention center, where detainees had to pay for a cup in order to have water. The charges against her were ultimately dismissed due to what her attorney described as a lack of evidence.
Democrats organized the hours-long congressional oversight hearing in Los Angeles in order to hear testimony about the impacts of Donald Trump’s sweeping deportation agenda, and look at alleged civil rights abuses by federal agents and the “unlawful” detention of US citizens.
“Every person in our country has a right to due process, regardless of immigration status. It’s critical that the Oversight Committee document and hold accountable those that are defying the constitution, violating civil rights, and terrorizing families and communities,” Robert Garcia, a Democratic California congressman, said in a statement.
The White House said earlier this month that the federal government had arrested more than 150,000 undocumented immigrants and deported nearly 140,000 people since Trump took office.
His administration has made southern California a focal point for its aggressive mass deportation campaign. Federal agents have descended on car washes and Home Depot stores, and near schools and workplaces, leaving southern California communities in fear and parks and churches empty. The federal government has been accused of “blatant racial profiling” and civil rights violations.
“Right now we are living an American nightmare,” said Jasmine Crockett, a Democratic representative from Texas.
The situation has left lasting effects on southern California communities and residents affected by the raids.
Velez said in her testimony: “I still live with the trauma everyday.”
Karen Bass, LA’s mayor, described the raids as “an attack from our own federal government” and an affront to cities and people across the US.
“We will hold every federal agency accountable, and we will relentlessly defend the rights of every resident in Los Angeles – and across this nation,” Bass said. “Reports that Angelenos, including US citizens, were forcibly held, physically attacked, and deprived of their freedom without cause are not only outrageous – they are intolerable.”
Garcia on Monday announced the creation of a new oversight dashboard documenting “verified incidents of possible misconduct and abuse” during federal immigration enforcement operations”.
The US Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.
