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LOS ANGELES – Mayor Bass today joined Congressman Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, for a congressional field hearing in Los Angeles to examine the unlawful detention of U.S. citizens and immigrants by federal immigration agents. Following a procession, the hearing brought together City leaders, immigration advocates and federal officials to hear firsthand testimony from individuals impacted by federal immigration enforcement actions, including U.S. citizens who were wrongfully detained by federal agents.
Mayor Bass’ opening remarks as delivered are below:
“Good morning, everyone, and let me just welcome those of you, my former colleagues in Congress who traveled here, who don't represent this area, but who came from other cities or other states. I want to welcome you to Los Angeles.
“To Los Angeles leaders and representatives of the immigrant rights organizations, community members that are here – one thing that we are blessed by in the City of Los Angeles is that we have a very strong infrastructure of immigrant rights organizations – and those community members that are here with or without an organization, we appreciate you taking the risk to be here. And I particularly want to mention One LA, who approached the Mayor's Office and suggested that we do hearings like this.
“But I want to especially thank our Ranking Member, Robert Garcia. You just mentioned in your opening comments you didn't know what the future would bring for you. Well look at what the future brought – one of the most powerful positions in Congress that we look forward to you moving from Ranking Member to Chair very shortly.
“I want to thank you. I want to thank you for answering our call for a congressional investigation into the egregious acts that began in Los Angeles, and as we predicted have now spread to other states. I'm speaking to you as the mayor of Los Angeles and as a lifelong Angeleno.
“On behalf of the city that has had a tough year, from devastating wildfires to witnessing friends, coworkers and family members snatched off the street, chased through parking lots and brutally detained by masked men.
“I think of those Angelenos who are detained, or who have been deported as we enter this holiday season. Thousands of families will miss family members over the holidays. I think of the economic impact the raids have had. Sectors of the Los Angeles economy cannot function without immigrant labor – L.A.'s fashion district, construction, hospitality industries are examples.
“I think of the emotional impact this has had on Angelenos, especially children, who live in fear, and people who are still reluctant to leave their homes.
“On June 6th, we knew that we were part of the experiment to see how much the American people would tolerate. This unprecedented misuse of the U.S military, federalizing the National Guard and sending 4,000 troops here, deploying 700 U.S. Marines – the city seriously felt under attack from our own government.
“The fear that blanketed the city is difficult to describe, frankly, because it's so hard to believe it actually happened. The U.S. Marines and the majority of the National Guard have left, but the injury they inflicted on Los Angeles remains.
“And make no mistake, the raids and the terror continue in this city. The raids don't dominate the nightly news, but just about every day, immigrant enforcement actions continue. Legalized racial profiling continues. We knew the experiment would travel to other cities, and it seems the tactics have been more brutal at each stop.
“During each attack, U.S. citizens have been brutalized and detained, including individuals who are in this country legally, properly attending required annual immigration appointments or simply going to work and school, have been stopped and detained. Many Angelenos are understanding that they must now carry identification that documents their immigration status. To me, this is reminiscent of passes needed by African Americans in the Jim Crow South, or by Black South Africans under the apartheid regime.
“Congress members, we asked for this hearing so we can develop a record of this moment in history. I applaud the formation of the dashboard. We wanted you to begin the investigation as the actions are continuing to happen. What usually happens is, years later, an investigation begins to document, but we wanted to document this assault in our democracy right now. So in the future, those can be held accountable for actions that are essentially weakening our stability and weakening our democracy.
“It is my understanding that Ranking Member Garcia and Senator Blumenthal have demanded records from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. This hearing truly addresses the crisis that we cannot ignore.
“Los Angeles will not stay silent while Angelenos’ rights are violated. We are here to demand accountability, we are here to demand transparency and we are calling on Congress to act before more families are torn apart.
“Los Angeles is built by immigrants, powered by workers and strengthened by our diversity. We will not allow our people, our economy or our core values to become casualties of illegal federal actions. Angelenos deserve justice, immigrant families deserve justice, U.S. citizens deserve justice and the Constitution requires it.
“Let me now acknowledge Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Councilmember Heather Hutt, Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez and Councilmember Adrin Nazarian.
“I yield my time.”