Latino US citizens detail inhumane treatment by immigration officers before the Senate

On Tuesday, five U.S. citizens gave their testimony before the U.S. Senate on their traumatic experience after being illegally detained by immigration officers and sent a strong message: their voice matters and will let the world know about the injustices happening in the country. 

The massive immigration raids have been ongoing since June 6 and on several occasions U.S. citizens have been detained and arrested. Citizens testified that Federal immigration officers have often disregarded the proof of citizenship until hours or days later. Then they are freed without explanations. 

The bicameral public forum was organized by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA). The citizens who testified are Dayanne Figueroa from Chicago, Andera Velez and Javier Ramirez from Los Angeles, George Retes from Camarillo and Wilmer Chavarria from Vermont.

Sen. Blumenthal also released the report “Unchecked Authority” which recounts the story of 22 U.S. citizens illegally detained and whose injuries and trauma have left a lasting impact.

This includes “bleeding wounds, broken ribs, concussions, other kinds of real, physical, serious injury. And it doesn't matter if you have documentation, a passport, a Real ID,” said Blumenthal in his opening statement. 

However, it is estimated that the number is much higher but they haven’t been able to verify it. 

Garcia said people have to understand that if this illegal detention and arrest happened to U.S. citizens with no due process, no rights, no call to a lawyer or family, it can happen to anyone. 

“That’s the America we live in today and why we are here and what we are fighting against every single day,” Garcia said. 

Retes, a military veteran, said he was detained for three days without access to a phone call and unable to notify his family. He missed his daughter’s third birthday. 

“I told them I was a [U.S.] citizen, I said I have [a] license plate that can prove I’m a disabled veteran. I have a sticker on my windshield that says I’m an Iraq combat veteran,” Retes said, yet he was ignored. 

Chavarria, who is the Vermont Winooski School District superintendent, said during the summer he and his partner were arriving at the airport in Texas and he was taken to a detention area with several officers in plain clothes. He told them he was a U.S. citizen, asked for an attorney or to make a phone call and everything was denied. 

“I was told I have no constitutional rights at a port of entry and that I should be grateful that they were even bothering to ask me nicely,” he said. 

After hours of detention and being questioned numerous times about his life he was freed. 

Velez, Ramirez and Figueroa said they believe they were racially profiled. 

“They even said, ‘get him, he’s Mexican,” recalled Ramirez when he was detained by ICE officers while he was working in the city of Montebello.

Ramirez, who is diabetic, said four days later he was released and had to go to the hospital to get medical care.

Chavarria said he doesn’t feel safe if he tries to travel out of the country to visit his mother and Retes said he never thought he would be treated this way by the same country he served.  

“I don’t feel safe,” said Velez. “I feel violated,” said Figueroa. 

What happens next

Civil rights attorney Michael Carrillo, who is representing Velez and Ramirez, said it is important that Congress hear the truth of these illegal detentions and arrests. 

“The importance was to shine a light and to challenge these lies that are being perpetrated by Christy Noem, who says that no U.S. citizens have been detained, which is totally false,” Carrillo said. “And we heard testimony from five of the many, many U.S. citizens that have been caught up in these raids just because they're Latino.”

The Carrillo law firm is representing 14 U.S. citizens and one U.S. legal permanent resident. They have filed claims on behalf of their clients that are still pending. The next step is the federal civil rights lawsuit.

“We have no second-class citizens, you are equal before the law,” said Blumenthal.