[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 121 (Thursday, July 23, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H5192-H5194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AND STILL I RISE: ICE AND TRUMP'S MEME COINS
(Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Green
of Texas was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority
leader.)
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise. And I rise today
as I always did, censured but not silenced, a very proud, unbossed,
unbought, liberated, and unelected Democrat.
And I rise today to bring two things to the attention of the House
and to the people of the United States of America. The first is a brief
update on ICE, and the second is an explanation related to crypto crony
capitalism.
Let us begin. With reference to ICE, Mr. Speaker, we had a briefing
just yesterday, and at that briefing some things were discovered and
other things were uncovered. What we found, of course, we knew, and
that is that there was not a body camera on the ICE officers who took
the life of Mr. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
Officers did not have body cameras on, and there was not a dash
camera in the vehicle. The video that we have seen was taken by some
public device, and that video, of course, has given us reason to
understand that Mr. Salgado Araujo was not committing what I perceive
as an infraction related to the law. He was not.
The evidence that we heard yesterday gave us good reason to believe
that there would be body cameras. And these body cameras would be in
place on all officers who are performing this type of activity where
they are taking people into custody or desire to take
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people into custody for various reasons associated with immigration,
that these officers will all have body cameras.
I brought up the question of dash cameras, and they indicated to me
that that would be given consideration. So I am very proud that the
persons who were available indicated that they would not only give us
the body cameras in 60 days, but they would also consider dash cameras
in the vehicle itself.
I think these things will help not only the public but also the
officers because the officers can immediately have the evidence to
exonerate themselves when there is some question as to whether or not
the officers have committed an infraction of the law.
I am very proud to know these things will happen, but there will be a
follow up to make sure they do happen.
I am also proud to tell you that tomorrow there will be in Houston,
Texas, a forum, a forum wherein we will have an opportunity to have a
discussion about these issues associated with Mr. Lorenzo Salgado
Araujo's death. We will have an opportunity to ask questions of people
who can give us more information.
These things are important.
Finally, on this question of ICE, I would only make this point that
we will get the body cameras. I believe we will get the dash cameras in
time.
Here is what I know: I know that we will have them because lives were
lost. And I regret that it has taken the loss of lives--the loss of
lives--to have us do what ICE should have been asking us to do. We
should not have been asking that these things be done. One would think
that the officers would say: These body cameras are going to benefit
us, would you please, Congress, give us body cameras? That was not the
case.
And because it was not the case and because Mr. Pretti lost his life,
Ms. Good lost her life, Mr. Salgado Araujo lost his life, and we have a
person in Maine who lost life, these four persons, all of these things
occurring within this year, these issues, these persons losing their
lives will now give us the opportunity to have body cameras.
It is a disgrace, a shame, and a sin to have to conclude that lives
have to be lost for us to do the right thing. I want the world to know
that I will never, ever stop the challenge that is before us to make
sure that ICE is an institution, as it were, an organization, if you
will, that will treat people fairly and justly.
Not all of the ICE officers are engaged in illegal activities, and
some of the activities are illegal when they engage in extrajudicial
killings, but not all of the officers are doing this, so I am not
painting everybody with the same brush.
I am saying that enough of them are doing it for us to demand some
additional reforms with ICE. Of course, we are still demanding that
they have uniforms that are indicative of the work that they do, that
their names be displayed on those uniforms, and that they not enter
property without a proper warrant. These are the things that we would
just take for granted that the Constitution would afford us and would
be recognized by officers of the law.
I promise you, Mr. Speaker, I am going to stay in this fight, and we
are going to get positive results.
Now, moving on to the crony crypto capitalism. For those who do not
know, the President has a meme coin, and the President's meme coin has
done quite well.
The President's meme coin, the dollar sign Trump meme coin, that meme
coin has made $1.64 million per day over a 1-year period of time. Over
that same 1-year period of time, nearly 1 million people lost $3.8
billion. Let me repeat that: Over that same period of time, nearly 1
million people lost $3.8 billion.
How did this happen?
It happened because the meme coin that the President has is a part of
a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme is a means by which a person can
convince people that they should buy something that does not have any
worth except for the purchase of that thing itself, which is nothing in
this case. Mr. Speaker, you purchase nothing with the belief that
someone is willing to pay more for nothing than you paid for nothing,
and, as a result, the value is increased for you if you paid nothing at
a lower price than someone else is going to pay for this same thing for
nothing.
The President has sold nothing to nearly 1 million people who lost
$3.8 billion. The President made $1.74 million per day on the deal,
pumped it up, took his $1.74 million per day and left nearly 1 million
people to lose $3.8 billion. That, Mr. Speaker, is the President's
Ponzi scheme.
One would ask: How can this be?
It exists because we have a President who lives without the law by
causing certain persons to believe that things should be legal that
clearly have not been and should not be.
Ponzi schemes have been illegal in this country. The President has
managed to get his persons who are in charge to indicate that this is
not illegal, that this Ponzi scheme is not, and others still are. I am
mentioning this to you, Mr. Speaker, because this scheme, this whole
scam, is having an impact on capitalism.
There are people who are now starting to see this as a part of
capitalism, the Ponzi scheme, a means of making money on what is called
a free market. They believe that the free market is designed in certain
places to benefit very wealthy people.
{time} 1130
They have breaks in benefits from capitalism by having laws passed to
benefit them and by engaging in things such as this Ponzi scheme that
benefit them. In a sense, this is harming the concept of capitalism.
One should be able to understand why some people are looking at other
options. If this is the way we are going to manage capitalism, by
having your cronies do quite well while millions of others are taken
advantage of, this is one example of why people would say: Maybe this
is not working well enough, and we will try something else.
My hope is that we can correct these things, especially this thing
associated with the President and his Ponzi scheme. My hope is that we
can correct these things and let people see that truly we can have an
economic order that treats people with the kind of justice that they
deserve. This is an unjust system, the Ponzi scheme, and we have to
bring justice to it. Probably the best way to bring justice to it is
going to be to see this President walk away and then, thereafter, do
some serious investigations, serious hearings, and get to the bottom of
things, not only associated with the Ponzi scheme but other things, as
well.
I regret that some people are not going to get their money back. My
hope is that there would be some way to reverse it, but my belief is
that a good many people are just going to suffer and will not get their
money back.
I also know this: That, as I am speaking now--and I am telling people
this is the case--the Ponzi scheme continues. People are going to buy
into nothing and expect to get something.
You have been noticed. Please understand that the President is just
taking advantage of you. He is. Not only is he doing it in this area,
there are many others. I am just talking about this today. I will talk
about others at a later time. He is taking advantage of you. You can
stop it by not buying into this Ponzi scheme.
Capitalism is taking a hit, and it is for many reasons but the chief
reason, I think, being the President who is doing things to aid and
abet his friends, allowing people to make contributions and then have
certain benefits. A President who clearly has lived beneath the law and
above the law. Beneath it in the sense that he doesn't believe it
exists so he pushes it aside. Above it in the sense that he doesn't get
charged for his criminality the same way other people would be charged
if they were doing similar things.
My belief is that we have time to cure some of the harm, but time is
not on our side. Every day the President continues to find new ways to
take advantage of the economic order that has been in place in this
country since its inception, for the most part.
I would only say to you this: One of the remedies that we have
available to us is one that I will pursue. I said we needed to wait
until we could get control of the House, the Senate, and the
Presidency, yes.
[[Page H5194]]
People want to know: What are you going to do now? I have said, and I
continue to say, that we are in a countdown to impeachment. My desire
will be to do this: When next we are in session, for all to know,
Articles of Impeachment will be filed. The countdown will continue, but
it will become that which will be brought to the floor of the House of
Representatives when next we are in session. When next the House of
Representatives is in session, I will take the Articles over to the
clerk, they will be filed, and at some time thereafter--a reasonable
amount of time thereafter, to give Members a chance to see exactly what
I have filed, although I plan to publish the articles before they are
filed so people will know what we are going to file--file these
Articles of Impeachment.
That will give them plenty of time to prepare the defense of, well,
it is too soon. The Senate won't take up the articles seriously. You
don't have enough senators there to convict. Let's see, what else will
people say? Always, whatever it is, is not impeachable until maybe they
decide that they want to file Articles, and then it becomes an
impeachable offense.
Let's be reminded of what President Ford said: An impeachable
offense--meaning impeachment--is whatever Congress says at a given
time. Whatever given Congress says at a given time. It is not
appealable. It is not something that will require you to report how you
came to your conclusions. Really, it is a matter of conscience for me,
and I hope for others, as well.
We will file the Articles of Impeachment. We will notice them prior
to them being filed. People can start preparing now your arguments for
why you can't support the Articles of Impeachment. Here is what I do
know: Posterity is not going to look favorably upon us for allowing a
President to commit impeachable offenses and do nothing.
Of course, someone would say, but we will do something when we are in
the majority. Now, that is another interesting question, as I close. I
have been out on the campaign trail, and I hear the people talking
about all of these things that they are going to do when they get to
Congress. Well, I have seen at least one example of the person getting
to Congress and concluding: I will be doing something next year when we
have the majority.
Run on doing something great now but get here and realize that you
don't have the power to do what you thought, so you will do it next
year.
Well, I am going to do things now. I am not going to wait until next
year. I am a right-now kind of guy. As a right-now kind of person, I
will bring the Articles of Impeachment.
Mr. Speaker, this is what the Constitution requires. It is what I
will do because, again, I am an unbought, unbossed, unafraid,
unelected, liberated Democrat.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
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