[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 101 (Thursday, June 12, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2661-H2662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ICE, SURVEILLANCE, AND TRUMP

  (Ms. Omar of Minnesota was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to denounce the Trump 
administration's police state tactics in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New 
York City, and so many other cities across the country.
  We should speak clearly about what is happening.
  Masked agents of the state in unmarked vehicles are terrorizing 
communities. They are disappearing people. They are targeting political 
opponents of the President.
  They are using militarized force to silence, intimidate, and 
brutalize not just Americans who are exercising their First Amendment 
rights but also members of the press.
  They are partnering with Trump's donors, Silicon Valley oligarchs, 
for a sinister and deeply un-American agenda of surveillance and 
criminalization based on people's political views or, in some cases, 
just based on where they live.
  There was a story that Trump told during the campaign about the need 
to restore law and order, about the need to target criminals. Within 
moments of assuming the Presidency for the second time, though, his 
true agenda became clear.
  The administration has no interest whatsoever in targeting criminals. 
What they want is to fulfill Stephen Miller's white nationalist 
fantasy. They are targeting law-abiding people.

[[Page H2662]]

In fact, they are punishing immigrants who are following the law.
  Let me say that again: They are punishing immigrants who are 
following the law.
  That is what it means to use IRS data to target people. It means 
targeting people who are paying their taxes. That is what it means to 
send agents, with their faces covered by bandanas, to immigration court 
to arrest people while leaving their hearings. They are punishing 
people who are doing things the right way by showing up to court and 
going through the process.
  It can be a little easy in politics to point out the hypocrisy on the 
other side and to point out people's inconsistencies when their own 
party is in charge. Yet, I can't ignore the irony that the Republican 
Party has spent my entire life railing about Big Brother when Democrats 
want to put simple things like energy standards on appliances.
  For the last 4 years, the majority has gone on and on about the 
weaponization of the Federal Government. My Republican colleagues 
created a special subcommittee here in the House, which I happily voted 
for, to hammer the idea that Americans were being targeted based on 
their political views.

  I wonder, when the Federal Government is sending marines to break up 
protests in Los Angeles, why are we hearing little from that side about 
the States' rights.
  I wonder, when unaccountable rogue agencies are partnering with tech 
companies like Palantir to surveil and profile Americans, why are we 
hearing so little from the other side about civil liberties.
  I also wonder, when people are being arrested, stripped of their 
green cards, and deported because they do not agree with our 
government's position on Gaza, why are we hearing so little from that 
side about the weaponization of the Federal Government.
  The American people are right to be disturbed by these unmistakably 
fascist tactics, and they are showing up in numbers to oppose the 
militarized raids. They are using their constitutional rights to oppose 
the brutality of Trump and Miller's policies.
  I stand in solidarity with the people in my district and across this 
country who are coming out to peacefully make their voices heard and 
demand respect for our constitutional rights and values.
  The people who are standing up for their neighbors, standing up for 
families, and standing up for communities are showing more patriotism 
and more genuine commitment to our founding ideals than the people 
running the executive branch. This administration will not last 
forever, and the reactions of everyday Americans to this 
authoritarianism give me heart.
  A couple of weeks ago, after an ICE raid at a pizzeria in Honesdale, 
Pennsylvania, two people gave quotes to local news that have been 
making the rounds. One of them said: ``It is just made to instill fear, 
and I am not sure why we need fear in our communities instead of love 
and caring and community.''
  That is what we are about in this country, and that is what we will 
continue to stand up for.

                          ____________________