Crockett Demands Accountability for All Victims of Crime - Opening Remarks at Oversight Subcommittee

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. And let me echo the condolences that he said not to give. Regardless, as someone who I don't think will ever get comfortable with trying to explain the unexplainable, specifically to parents, there is a due order that we all believe will exist, especially when you bring your beautiful child into this world. And the one thing that no parent ever anticipates is for that order to be disrupted. Prior to coming to Congress, I was frustrated. I did a lot of the same work that Mr. Romanucci does. I had to face so many parents that lost their children and shouldn't have, whether it was doing the civil rights work, or whether it was sometimes being the criminal defense attorney that would have to walk into court and represent people and make sure that their due process rights were preserved, because they had been accused of killing somebody else. So I will say that I agree with the suffice. They never have. They never will. But I must say that our actions have to speak louder than any words. And one of the reasons that I got into politics is because I felt like politicians are very good at lip service. And frankly, this hearing is a hearing that we have over and over and over. We've talked about sanctuary cities. And it frustrates me if I'm being perfectly honest, because it doesn't lead to solutions. It feels like political gamesmanship. And the chairman is my friend. But I always keep it as real as I can. So I want to say thank you to each and every one of you for being here today. And let me be clear about something. Anyone who commits a crime, especially a violent crime, should be fully held accountable. No matter their citizenship status, race, sex, how much money they do or don't have, whether they went to school or not, or even if they're a government official, no one should be above the law. I've listened to similar witnesses give their accounts and their stories, but specifically as relates to the witnesses that sit before us today. I've read your written testimony. And I agree with some of the specific things that have been said in your written testimony. For example, Ms. Fox, that policies have consequences, and that public policy should not require a threshold of victims before it's taken seriously. The only people in disagreement with this statement are the Republicans on this committee. They've held multiple hearings on this topic, but still haven't invited the families of anyone killed by ICE, or who have died while in ISIS custody. More people died in ISIS custody last year than any time in the 21st century. And Republicans still haven't invited any of their families to testify before this committee. ICE and CBP have either shot or shot at, at least 24 people, including American citizens. Some have died. Others have been severely injured. College student even had to have their eye removed after being shot in the face. Republicans have not invited any of their families to testify before this committee. As far as I know, Republicans have not even contacted the families of those killed or harmed. What our witnesses went through is tragic and devastating. And their loved ones, you deserve justice. But I have to be clear and say that their lives are not worth more nor less than, say, the life of Renee Good, or the life of Alex Pretty, or the life of Ruben Martinez, a 23-year-old US citizen who was shot and killed by ICE in March of 2025, or the life of Miramar Martinez, a 30-year-old US citizen who was shot five times by federal agents. Now, Ms. Martinez miraculously survived, but to Ms. Fox's point, it, quote, should not require a threshold of victims before it is taken seriously. Just six months after federal agents murdered Ruben Martinez, they tried to murder Miramar Martinez, but failed. Just two and a half months later, federal agents killed Renee Good. Just 17 days after that, federal agents killed Alex Pretty. And each time, Republicans on this committee have blamed the victims. If they had only been exercising their First Amendment rights, they'd be alive today. Or if Ms. Martinez hadn't panicked after federal agents ran up behind her, put an AR-15 to her head, and said, quote, do something, bitch. If she had just stayed calm, maybe she wouldn't have been shot five times. This is what failed policy looks like. And these families deserve to have a voice when they're discussing immigration enforcement policies in the United States. Republicans would rather parade families experiencing tragedy around the halls of Congress for political purposes than to actually fix our broken immigration system. In fact, I don't know how many people remember, but prior to the presidential election, the House and the Senate had worked on legislation. And there was a candidate that did not want us to take up the legislation because they wanted to campaign on a broken system. The bad part about campaigning on broken systems is that they continue to allow for harm to be permeated throughout the entirety of our country. And that's exactly what happened. And that's what's happening right now. In fact, Republicans are ignoring all crime across the United States. They refuse to enforce congressional subpoenas to advance the investigation into the Epstein pedophile ring. They've been completely silent on the fact that Donald Trump issued unconditional pardons for January 6th insurrectionists, many of whom were convicted on separate charges of rape, stalking, child abuse, domestic violence, drug trafficking, and possession of child porn. For months, they've ignored Trump's and Hecsef's war crimes when they ordered the killings of noncombatant civilians, many of whom were just fishermen. And now they're ignoring the president's illegal war and genocidal threats against the Iranian people. Republicans have completely abandoned the American people. ATF case referrals are down. DEA case referrals are down. The number of weapons seized by DHS dropped by almost 80%. Drug arrests are down. In just the first six months of his administration, Trump's DOJ ended 23,000 criminal cases, including investigations into terrorism, tax evasion, drug trafficking, and other violent crimes. And Republicans on this committee haven't held a single hearing, started any investigations, or done anything about it. Drug traffickers, men who prey on children, murderers, and potential terrorists are all roaming the streets of America because they'd rather use these families' tragedy for political gain. I'm going to be real honest about this. Your children should be here today. Believe me when I tell you that. And while I sit in this imperfect government, and we all know that government is run by imperfect people because we are all human, there are policies that can be changed. And it would be my hope and prayer that we start to bring about policy changes that can prevent loss of life all around. Right now, as federally elected officials, the one thing that we could do to start to save at least some folk is to focus on the fact that we have what seems to be government-sanctioned violence that is leading to people dying. And we are the ones that oversee these government officials. And I would encourage the chairman to hold a hearing so that we can do that part because we are not elected to run any city. We are elected on the federal level, and we are the ones that are supposed to have oversight over DHS and others. And with that, I will yield.