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With eight days until a deadline to keep the Department of Homeland Security running, bipartisan talks on reining in federal immigration agents' tactics appeared to sputter before they had even gotten underway.
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Democrats say they will not support a spending bill to keep the Homeland Security Department running without new restrictions on federal agents.
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U.S. citizens who have had violent encounters with federal immigration agents deployed in cities across the U.S. testified before Congress on Tuesday. Amid harrowing testimony by three victims and the brothers of Renee Good, congressional Democrats offered apologies and promises of accountability. Not a single Republican lawmaker showed up to the hearing.
Renee Good's brothers Brent and Luke Ganger both testified at the hearing, with Brent Ganger calling Good "unapologetically hopeful."
Marimar Martinez was shot multiple times by Border Patrol agents. "The mental scars will always be there as a reminder of the time my own government attempted to execute me — and when they failed, they chose to vilify me," Martinez said.
Daniel Rascon described how federal immigration agents pointed rifles at him and shot at his car. "They shattered the windows, and in that moment the whole world felt like it was the size of the inside of our pickup, and we were sitting in harm's way with nothing to do but record the horrifying experience," he said.
Aliya Rahman was stopped by federal agents and violently pulled from her vehicle — despite telling the agents that she is disabled and has a traumatic brain injury. "I now cannot lift my arms normally," said Rahman. "I was never asked for ID, never told I was under arrest, never read my rights and never charged with a crime."
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The Border Patrol commander gave agents wide latitude to arrest people as immigration raids began last summer. Similar tactics were later used in other cities.
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