[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 214 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8881-S8883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, earlier this year, the Trump
administration began a calculated show of political theater in force
designed to spread fear and terror in Chicago and surrounding Illinois
communities.
Masked Federal agents pepper-sprayed, punched, body slammed, and even
shot individuals, including U.S. citizens, during violent immigration
enforcement actions. Virtually all of what I just said was captured on
video. They deployed tear gas canisters against clergy, broke into
apartments, zip-tied children.
When they were required by the Federal courts to disclose how many
people had been detained recently, they came up with 614 names; 16 of
the 600 had any criminal record that presented a threat to public
safety whatsoever--16 out of 614.
President Trump has not gone after the worst of the worst as he
promised. Instead, he has brought some of the worst, most
unprofessional, and most poorly trained Federal law enforcement
officers and agents into our city.
Because of his so-called Operation Midway Blitz, children are afraid
to go to schools, businesses are closing, and families are being torn
apart. Yet the Trump administration shows no regret. They are reveling
in the fear and chaos they are creating.
Look at the Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino. On Tuesday, he
returned to Chicago after leaving last month and bringing his campaign
of fear to North Carolina and New Orleans. As soon as he arrived back
in Chicago, Mr. Bovino went to the picket line of Local 705 of the
Teamsters at Mauser Packaging Solutions.
These workers are on strike for better benefits, safer working
conditions, and measures to prevent ICE from entering their workplace
without a Federal judicial warrant.
Bovino brought Federal agents to this picket line to intimidate and
interrogate these workers. He laughed in their faces as they demanded
better working conditions. In court testimony, Mr. Bovino has praised
Federal agents' use of excessive force as ``exemplary,'' even after
multiple U.S. citizens were hospitalized following their encounters
with his Federal agents.
When addressing Federal agents prior to a confrontation with peaceful
protesters, Mr. Bovino stated that ``if someone strays into a pepper
ball, then that's on them.''
Bovino has tear-gassed peaceful crowds, encouraged his agents to fire
pepper balls at protesters, and threatened to go ``even harder on the
streets,'' when Federal judges dare to order him to follow the law. But
Mr. Bovino is not alone in his cruelty. Many Trump officials have been
posting and gloating about their clear violations of constitutional
rights.
While President Trump has given them carte blanche to violate the
law, there is a reality ahead. One day President Trump will not be in
the White House. When he goes, those who ordered these unlawful
activities finally may be held accountable and prosecuted. Section 242
of title 18 of the United States Code makes it a crime for a Federal
law enforcement official acting under color of law to violate the
constitutional rights of any person.
I have no expectation that President Trump's Justice Department will
investigate these violations currently taking place in Chicago. But the
statute of limitations from these provisions is 5 years. The next
administration will be well within its rights to hold accountable
anyone who violated an individual's constitutional rights or directed
others to do so during this Trump administration.
While the Supreme Court's outrageous decision in Trump v. The United
States may have personally immunized President Trump from prosecution,
it provided no such protection for these agents.
The Trump administration officials responsible for the use of
excessive force or unlawful detention may face criminal consequences
for their role in the Midway Blitz. That is why, today, my colleague
Senator Duckworth and I have submitted a criminal referral to the
Justice Department regarding the unlawful actions of senior Trump
administration officials and Federal immigration agents in Operation
Midway Blitz.
To take one example, a Border Patrol agent shot a Chicago woman
multiple times. Body camera video reportedly shows the agent
threatening the woman, saying ``Do something,'' and then I will delete
the next term he used, prior to shooting her.
Afterward, the agent bragged in text messages to other agents about
shooting the woman, writing ``5 shots, 7 holes.'' As ranking member of
the Senate Judiciary Committee, I have directed my staff to continue
gathering
[[Page S8882]]
evidence of potential violations of section 242, and we will provide
this evidence to the Justice Department in due course.
In addition, Illinois elected officials are hard at work documenting
crimes committed by these Federal agents. The mayor of Evanston has
opened an investigation after Federal agents pinned down a man and
struck him in the head. The Village of Broadview is conducting criminal
investigations related to ICE's use of tear gas and rubber bullets
against first responders and peaceful protesters.
Tomorrow, the Illinois Accountability Commission will hold its first
public hearing, which will examine the widespread use of chemical
agents during Midway Blitz. There will come a time when the people
responsible for these assaults, tear-gassing, and unjust detention
during this unlawful immigration action will face real accountability.
These officials swore an oath when they began their service to
preserve and protect the Constitution, but in their role as Federal law
enforcement officials, there is ample evidence they violated the very
rights they promised to defend.
Today, I am putting those participating in Operation Midway Blitz on
notice: You can continue to terrorize people. You can ignore the
rulings of our courts, our laws, and our Constitution. You can hide
behind your masks. You can ignore due process requirements in the
Constitution. The day will come when justice will be served. The day
will come when you will be held accountable. The day will come when
this pitiful display of meanness and intolerance will become one of the
saddest chapters in our Nation's history, and you will be held
accountable.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Honoring Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, Sergeant William Nathan
Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat
Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, this past weekend marked the 389th birthday
of the National Guard. The Guard was on the front lines in our fight
for freedom even before the birth of our Nation and played a critical
role in securing our independence.
Today, the men and women who put on the uniform continue to live out
that legacy by serving our communities, responding to disasters and
emergencies, and protecting our Nation's defense in overseas combat,
security, and reconstruction missions.
The members of the National Guard are hard-working folks who live and
work in our communities and made a commitment to our country to be
ready whenever and wherever duty calls.
As a proud veteran of the Iowa Army National Guard, I raised my right
hand and also took the oath to serve, and that service was shaped by
the folks in uniform who were standing shoulder to shoulder with me.
From those who served alongside of me to those who came before me and
after me, we all promised to be ``Always Ready, Always There.'' But
instead of celebrating that legacy last Saturday, our Nation was rocked
with the news that we had lost some of our own. And nowhere felt this
tragic loss more than Iowa, as we learned two brave Iowan National
Guardsmen gave their lives in service to our country.
While supporting counterterrorism operations in Syria, SGT Edgar
Brian Torres-Tovar and SGT William Nathan Howard, members of the 2nd
Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, came under fire and were
killed by a lone ISIS gunman near Palmyra.
This senseless attack also took the life of a U.S. civilian
interpreter Ayad Sakat and wounded three more members of the Iowa
National Guard. Two of the injured servicemembers were evacuated for
surgery. They were taken from Syria to Jordan and from Jordan on to
Germany.
And in keeping with ``Always Ready, Always There,'' it was actually
an Iowa unit--the 185th Air Wing, the 185th Medical Group--that
evacuated our Iowa Army National Guardsmen from Jordan to Germany. They
surrounded the wounded and reassured them that they were all from Iowa,
and they were there to care for their Iowa brothers.
But our Iowa National Guard family is hurting. As we mourn the loss
of two of our own and pray for the continued recovery of our wounded,
my heart goes out to their families, their loved ones, and, of course,
the folks they served with. This loss is immeasurable. So please join
me in honoring the lives of these heroes today.
Friends describe 25-year-old Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, from Des
Moines, as selfless, goofy, and kindhearted, an amazing soldier and an
even better friend. He was the first in his family to serve in the
military. He joined the Iowa Army National Guard before his high school
graduation ceremony in 2019, which speaks to his character in wanting
to serve at such a young age.
Sergeant Torres-Tovar, your service and sacrifice will never be
forgotten. My heart breaks for your friends, your family, and your
community.
And as I was able to speak with his family, yesterday, they were torn
apart and still in shock at the loss of their son. I was able to hug
his mother and hold her hands and express my sorrow that she would not
see her son again.
Mr. President, 29-year-old SGT William Nathaniel Howard, known as
``Nate,'' from Marshalltown, IA, was a loving husband and described as
an amazing man of faith. He joined the Iowa National Guard soon after
graduating from Marshalltown High School and has been enlisted ever
since. His stepfather Jeffrey Bunn, who serves as the Meskwaki Nation
Police Department chief, shared that Nate wanted to be a soldier from a
very young boy, all the way to his adulthood.
To his family, especially his wife Arianna and their son, my prayers
are with you.
These men are two of our Nation's finest, a true testament to the
selfless bravery it takes to put on the uniform and keep our homeland
safe from the threat of radical Islamic terror. They are also a
reminder that our freedom is not free, and every American owes an
enormous debt of gratitude to our servicemembers who put their lives on
the line.
I know firsthand the sacrifice of men and women who put themselves in
harm's way. In 2003, I had the privilege of leading 150 Iowa Army
National Guardsmen as a company commander in Iraq and Kuwait in support
of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Together, we drove supply convoys,
conducting transportation and security missions in a combat zone. My
soldiers, those incredible men and women, were critical to the mission,
and our shared trust and commitment to each other was a very special
bond.
To those who have served alongside Sergeants Torres-Tovar and Howard
and to the 1,800 Iowans currently deployed throughout the Middle East,
I feel your loss and your hurt. I have been in those boots. And rest
assured, America has your back.
When I heard the tragic news, I rushed to comfort the families and
traveled to visit the wounded and escort the fallen back to our
homeland.
Sergeant Howard's brother, SSG James Roelsgard, who was serving in
Kuwait at the time, is also a National Guardsman. He and I accompanied
the bodies to Dover Air Force Base. Before we left Germany, we had a
moment alone with the other escorts in the hulk of that C-17, which,
ironically, was piloted and flown by the West Virginia Air Guard--West
Virginia having lost a soldier here, locally, only a few weeks ago. But
in that C-17, Sergeant Roelsgard knelt down beside his brother's case,
draped in the flag, and he wept.
We all feel that loss.
I was able to accompany our fallen back to Dover Air Force Base, and
there we were joined by our Iowa delegation and led by our Commander in
Chief, and, all together, we comforted the families, and we mourned
together.
Our Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa to fly at
halfstaff, out of respect and remembrance, until the bodies of our Iowa
National Guardsmen have returned home and are laid to rest.
But that does not mark the end of their stories. We will continue to
stand with their families and communities in mourning. We will make
sure the world knows the legacy of Iowa's heroes and that every
American life is precious.
Sergeant Torres-Tovar and Sergeant Howard, we remember you, we honor
you, and we are proud of you. Your Nation is indebted to you.
The legacy of these heroes will never, ever be forgotten. Godspeed to
our heroes, and God bless these great United States of America.
[[Page S8883]]
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.