Mayor Karen Bass addresses the media Nov. 24 prior to the start of a congressional field hearing to address and document unlawful detentions and abuses by federal immigration agents. U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia cochaired the hearing with Bass.
Photo by Lorenzo Gomez
Wave Staff Report
LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass joined U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, and other elected officials at a congressional field hearing Nov. 24 to address and document unlawful detentions and abuses by federal immigration agents. More than 200 people attended the hearing in downtown Los Angeles.
“No community should be made to live in fear of unwarranted persecution,” Bass said. “This hearing creates a record of the unlawful abuses that Angelenos, including U.S. citizens have faced.
“The firsthand accounts of Angelenos who were forcibly held, physically attacked and deprived of their freedom without cause are not only outrageous — they are intolerable. This is more than an affront to Los Angeles as we’ve unfortunately seen these attacks spread to cities across the county. I am grateful for Congressman Garcia’s support, and I remain steadfast and fearless in protecting our residents and upholding justice.”
Garcia, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, thanked Bass for participating in the hearing.
“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,” he said.
The hearing brought together city leaders, immigration advocates and federal officials, and featured testimony from immigrants and U.S. citizens who were wrongfully detained by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department. Witnesses described violent arrests, racial profiling and violations of constitutional rights, providing emotional accounts of the harms caused by federal immigration enforcement.
Participants also documented a growing pattern of abuses amid ongoing, indiscriminate immigration raids across Los Angeles and the nation.
As part of the hearing, Garcia announced the launch of the Oversight Immigration Enforcement Dashboard. In order to fulfill oversight and legislative responsibilities, Oversight Committee Democrats launched the dashboard to compile a verified public record of possible misconduct incidents after they occur.
Angelenos can learn more about the dashboard or submit their own reports at .oversightdemocrats.house.gov/immigration-dashboard.
Witnesses included: Lindsay Toczylowski, president and CEO of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center; Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights; David Huerta, president of SEIU California; Father Brendan Busse of Dolores Mission Church; Chanchanit (Chancee) Martorell, founder and executive director of the Thai Community Development Center; and Andrea Velez, Los Angeles resident and U.S. citizen detained by ICE.
County Supervisors Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis also were in attendance.
“These agents are behaving as if they are above the law,” Hahn said. “A community led organization who is monitoring ICE’s work called the Harbor Area Peace Patrol has documented ICE agents swapping license plates between vehicles — or taking plates off all together.
“They cover their faces and refuse to wear badges or identify themselves. They pull people into unmarked vans at gunpoint and wonder why people resist arrest,” she added.
“This is how an authoritarian’s secret police operate — not legitimate law enforcement in a democracy. I want this committee to know the pain ICE is causing in Los Angeles County — the children who may never see their parents again, the families who are going hungry without bread winners, the longtime residents deported to countries they barely know.”
Solis also was highly critical of the federal immigration raids.
“Today’s hearing made clear the human cost of the Trump administration’s inhumane immigration policies,” she said. “Across Los Angeles County, communities are living in fear, facing civil rights violations and enduring attacks on basic human dignity. Families, including many U.S. citizens, have had their lives upended by unlawful arrests, racial profiling, and aggressive raids.
“The Trump administration must be held accountable,” Solis added. “To that end, I will continue standing up to these abuses and fighting to protect due process for our communities.”
Bass has been defending Los Angeles families and standing strong against the Trump administration’s reckless immigration raids and the federalization of the National Guard in L.A. this summer. Even as a federal court issued a temporary restraining order, the White House pressed forward with its raids — but Los Angeles has refused to back down.
Bass has taken decisive action to protect immigrant communities, signing an executive directive to support Los Angeles’ immigrant communities, including:
• Mandating all departments to strengthen their protocols and training to align with the city’s law restricting the use of city resources for immigration enforcement and submit plans demonstrating their readiness.
• Forming a working group with the LAPD, the Mayor’s Office of Immigration Affairs, immigration rights organizations, and community leaders to collect feedback that will help shape additional guidance for police officers responding to immigration enforcement activities.
• Seeking records from the federal government relating to the indiscriminate raids.
• Increasing immigrant families’ access to city resources by utilizing each department’s designated Immigrant Affairs Liaison.
