Subcommittee Ranking Member Jayapal’s Opening Statement at Hearing on Republicans’ Coercive Campaign to Force States, Localities to Enforce Trump’s Reckless Mass-Deportation Agenda

05.14.2026 | News Subcommittee Ranking Member Jayapal’s Opening Statement at Hearing on Republicans’ Coercive Campaign to Force States, Localities to Enforce Trump’s Reckless Mass-Deportation Agenda Washington, D.C. (May 14, 2026) — Today, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, delivered opening remarks at a hearing on Republicans’ campaign to strong-arm states and localities into carrying out an impossible federal mass-deportation agenda, which undermines local law enforcement, diverts essential crime-fighting resources, and makes all of our communities less safe.   Below are Ranking Member Jayapal’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at today’s hearing. WATCH Subcommittee Ranking Member Jayapal’s opening statement. Let me start by offering my deepest condolences to you, Ms. Minter. As a mother myself, I cannot imagine what you are going through in losing a daughter far too soon. I am very sorry for your loss.   This hearing is, unfortunately, another in a series of hearings the Majority has held that consistently attack trust policies that have upheld the necessary and important division between the enforcement of federal civil immigration law and the enforcement of local criminal laws. This division has proven over and over again in documented research to be essential in keeping all communities safe and ensuring that people come forward to report crimes. Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. And last year, Republicans gave the Department of Homeland Security over $170 billion in their Big Bad Betrayal bill to meet the arbitrary immigrant arrest quotas of Stephen Miller and to carry out President Trump’s cruel mass deportation agenda. Using this funding, ICE doubled in size. DHS officers killed two U.S. citizens in cold blood in Minnesota, beat and detained countless U.S. citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights, and broke down doors of U.S. citizens without a warrant in violation of the Fourth Amendment. We know of at least one U.S. citizen who has been arrested by ICE three times despite repeatedly informing agents he is a U.S. citizen. Another 18-year-old U.S. citizen with terminal cancer spent the last weeks of his life begging ICE to release his parents so he could see them before he died. They reunited one day before he died. And that is just what they have done to Americans. ICE is also subjecting hundreds of parents and children to months in immigration prisons, conducted senseless deportations of military veterans, separated families, massively increased immigration detention, resulting in a record 48 deaths in ICE detention since President Trump took office. A recent Politico analysis revealed that judges have ruled in at least 10,000 cases that the detention was illegal, with no due process, no opportunity for detainees to plead their case. 10,000 people, including a nursing mother who was separated from her one-year-old child, despite active legal refugee status and a 5-year-old boy detained by ICE on his way home from school. More than 425 judges have heard cases and reached the same conclusions about the illegality of Trump’s mass detention policies—including a majority of Trump-appointed judges. Three circuit courts have also now ruled the policy illegal. The impact of these illegal policies is not just being felt by immigrants, it is ripping apart entire communities across the country, creating fear and terror, and also negatively impacting opportunities for all Americans. A new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research just concluded that Trump’s immigration raids are now even weighing on the labor market, leading to fewer jobs for U.S. born men without a college degree.   Despite all of this, Republicans have refused to stop these illegal, unconstitutional and cruel policies. They have refused to address the fact that while their anti-immigrant strategies may have worked before, they don’t work anymore. Today, more than 60% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s immigration policies. Americans want Trump and Republicans to focus on lowering their gas prices and grocery prices. They want Republicans to stop giving tax breaks to billionaires while stripping healthcare from tens of millions of Americans. But Donald Trump said it himself just a few days ago. In his own words, Trump said, “I don’t think about the financial situation of Americans.” Really? That is exactly why Republicans are now planning to give ICE and Border Patrol an additional $70 billion with no oversight or accountability, yet having a hearing this morning to complain that Fairfax County will not do ICE’s job for them! Give me a break. DHS has plenty of money to hire all the new immigration enforcement agents they want. They don’t need to commandeer the local police officers who are hard at work maintaining Fairfax’s status as the safest county of its size in the United States. In one of the greatest ironies, here we are in the Immigration subcommittee having a hearing about the prosecutorial decisions of a County attorney and the jail policies of a County sheriff! Whatever happened to the Republican party that believed in local government? There are many reasons that states and localities choose not to or are unable to conduct immigration enforcement on behalf of the federal government. Numerous court orders have declared immigration detainers unlawful violations of the 4th amendment and state and local officials do not want to spend huge amounts of money on court cases. State constitutions often contain prohibitions. And local police departments want to prioritize their resources and encourage the trust of people to come forward and report crimes without worrying about their own immigration status. The Major Cities Chiefs Association has repeatedly reaffirmed that, cooperation with the immigrant community is essential to solve crime and prevent further criminal activity within the entire community, including ensuring protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.   In 2019, my home state of Washington passed the bipartisan Keep Washington Working Act for all these reasons as have many states across the country. Courts have ruled multiple times that states have the right to enact laws like the Keep Washington Working Act. These laws do allow information sharing with the federal government when necessary for an ongoing criminal investigation, or pursuant to a court order or judicial warrant. This committee should be holding hearings on the unconstitutionality of this Administration’s policies, on the killing of American citizens by ICE and CBP. But instead, we are doing yet another hearing designed to further this Administration’s anti-immigrant agenda and distract people from the real issues at hand. The American people deserve better. I look forward to hearing from all our witnesses today and I yield back. Issues: Immigration , Public Safety & Criminal Justice Share: Facebook Twitter Mail