ILHAN OMAR OPENING REMARKS FOR CO-HOSTED HEARING ON TRUMP’S TERROR ON MINNESOTA

SAINT PAUL — Today, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (MN-05) co-hosted a hearing with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) entitled Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Deadly Assault on Minnesota to hear how Trump’s unlawful actions have impacted residents and demand justice for the cold-blooded killing of Renee Good. You can watch the full video here. Below is a transcript of her remarks:

"What we are witnessing right now is unprecedented.

"There is no modern precedent for this level of federal overreach, violence, and lawlessness carried out in the name of immigration enforcement.

"This is not routine enforcement. This is not about public safety. This is not even about immigration. This is about political retribution.

"The president said it himself this week.

"It is increasingly clear that the entire purpose of these actions is to provoke chaos and fear in order to justify invoking the Insurrection Act and expand the president's ability to reign terror upon American citizens who do not vote for him.

"That is the context in which Renee Nicole Good occurred.

"This administration has unleashed a paramilitary force into our neighborhoods, terrorizing families, escalating enforcement, and now killing a US citizen in our state.

"And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

"Our office has received numerous reports of deeply questionable arrests, individuals detained without explanation, without warrants, without access to counsel, and in many cases, without any discernible lawful basis at all.

"We have heard of agents pushing people because they look Latino or Somali, forcing them into car accidents where they smash windows, cut seatbelts, carry people away.

"Abandoned cars with broken windows have become a normal sight of daily life in the Twin Cities.

"Trump claims Operation Metro Surge is about targeting criminals. The reality is even more disturbing.

"They have deliberately blurred the lines between public safety threats, legal immigration, and U.S. citizens, creating an enforcement campaign so indiscriminate that citizens are being swept up, arrested and carried away to detention facilities.

"In Minnesota, dozens of U.S. citizens have been taken into custody and released hours later.

"We have yet to see charges materialize because in nearly all instances, no federal charges are possible.

"Similarly, this administration has worked to reduce any semblance of due process, sending people out of state specifically to prevent access to legal representation, separating them from their family, counsel, and open removal processes for refugees with no legitimate legal basis.

"This is the behavior of a paramilitary force operating outside the bounds of law.

"This administration has been entirely unresponsive. Families could not locate loved ones. Attorneys cannot find their clients. Members of Congress can't get answers about where people are being held. 

"In North Minneapolis, doors have been battered down without judicial warrants as ICE has conducted door to door operations with guns drawn - actions that are neither legal or precedented.

"People have been indiscriminately shoved in the streets, pushed into oncoming traffic, and nearly hit by buses. Flashbangs, pepper balls, and chemical irritants are used without a second thought.

"This is not the America we want. This is not the Minnesota we deserve and we will fight back.

"Thank you and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses."

###