“I also feel your anger, and we should share that anger, and it is anger that should be directed at the administration. But it also ought to be directed at Congress. … There was hope that (ICE) would abandon the physical brutality and inhumanity of its tactics on the streets, there was hope that there would be accountability.
Back to stories
Families of Five People Killed by Federal Immigration Agents Tell a Democratic Shadow Hearing the Government's "Falsehoods" Amount to "Dual Assassinations" — Richard Blumenthal Says the Anger "Ought to Be Directed at Congress" Too, and Alex Padilla Promises Investigations "When We Get the Gavels Back"
September 23, 2026
On September 22, 2026, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking members of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and the House Oversight Committee, convened their fifth bicameral "shadow hearing" on immigration enforcement in a Senate office building. Relatives of five people killed by ICE or CBP agents — Ruben Ray Martinez, Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was shot in Biddeford, Maine — described what they called official falsehoods, obstruction of investigations and smears of the victims. Democrats in the minority cannot compel testimony or issue subpoenas; members at the forum pledged formal investigations if their party wins control of either chamber in November.
5
Statements Recorded
See what your representatives said?
5 Statements
“We're all committed to accountability in all its forms, and when we get the gavels back, we're going to move on that aggressively, starting with the investigations.
“Listening to these families today was heartbreaking and infuriating. … It is a huge issue in the midterm, absolutely. And people will have high expectations if Democrats take control of the House, or the House and Senate, that we're going to do something about it.
“[Garcia cited] over 1,000 credible and verified instances and abuses under President Donald Trump's second administration.
“It is time to vote them out.