Ilhan Omar (00:06):
In the 5th, we oftentimes talk about how important it is for us to go govern together. And I am really delighted for the showing from local electeds who represent the constituents that we get to represent on a federal level. I want to start by recognizing the fact that on January 24th, ICE agents murdered another member of our community. Alex Jeremy Pretti was an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA. He was an avid outdoorsman, a U.S. citizen. He was an incredibly compassionate person who cared for others countlessly. This is what he appeared to be doing just before being murdered: protecting another observer that was being attacked by ICE agents. Alex's murder by federal agents was not accidental or isolated. We witnessed this doing the murder of Renee Good by federal agents. ICE's reckless and lawless actions have taken a mother from three children, a partner from a wife, and inflicted and fathomable pain on our community.
(01:21)
Similar to Alex and Renee, they were exercising their first amendment right, an act that this administration has deemed a capital offense. Renee Good should be alive. Alex Pretti should still be alive. Please, let's take a moment of silence for Alex and Renee.
(01:54)
Thank you. My deepest condolences go out to Alex and Renee's family, friends, and everyone who knew and loved them. We will not stop fighting until we achieve real justice and accountability. The level of violence, federal overreach, lawlessness carried out in the name of immigration enforcement is unprecedented. U.S. citizens are being assaulted and detained. Minnesotans are expected to carry their citizenship papers. People are dying in ICE custody. This administration has reduced any semblance of due process, sending people out of state to prevent them from having legal representation. Doors are being broken down without judicial warrants, chemical irritants, pepper balls, flashbangs are being used without a second thought. DHS is thriving in secrecy, obscuring the conditions my constituents are being held in. This is not the America we know. This is not the America we love. Every Minnesotan has a right to feel safe and welcomed.
(03:12)
Earlier this month, I co-led a hearing with Representative Jayapal on Trump's deadly assault on Minnesota. We welcome 27 members of Congress to hear from witnesses on what has been happening on the ground and raise the alarm. Trump and his paramilitary immigration enforcement will not get away with their unlawful attacks on our state. The Constitution is on our side and we will fight every single day to defend it.
(03:49)
As it's been said, real justice and accountability starts with full transparent investigation and legal action against ICE followed by the abolishment of the agency. ICE cannot be reformed. It cannot be rehabilitated. We must abolish ICE for good. And DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
[inaudible 00:04:31].
Ilhan Omar (04:30):
I don't know.
Journalists (04:34):
Oh my God, he sprayed something on her.
Ilhan Omar (04:35):
I need a napkin.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
We won't continue.
Ilhan Omar (04:46):
We will continue. These fucking assholes are not going to get away with it.
Journalists (04:49):
We need to go get checked. [inaudible 00:04:57]. Whatever it is smells so bad. She needs to go get checked. I don't know what that was.
Ilhan Omar (05:03):
That's what they want.
Journalists (05:06):
It's not about him, Ilhan.
Ilhan Omar (05:06):
Please.
Journalists (05:09):
It's not about him. It's about your safety. No, he sprayed something on you.
Ilhan Omar (05:12):
Please.
Journalists (05:12):
You need to go get checked.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
And it smells.
Ilhan Omar (05:15):
We're going to keep talking. Just give me 10 minutes. Just give me 10 minutes. [inaudible 00:05:26]. Please don't let them have the show. Please don't let them have the show. Here is the reality that people like this ugly men don't understand. We are Minnesota strong and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us. Everybody settle down. I'm going to finish my remarks. It is important for me to continue to lead my Democratic colleagues in demanding her resignation. And like I said, if she does not resign, we are going to introduce articles of impeachment. This moment in U.S. history, and particularly in Minnesota, requires all of us to be working together to preserve our democracy. When we say we are going to put our lives on the line for what is our rights, we mean that.
(06:59)
Last week, my Republican colleagues put forth a Homeland Security funding bill that includes $28 billion for ICE and Border Patrol. I refuse to greenlight finding for a rock agency that ICE escalates violence, operates above the law, and opposes our most basic freedoms. I've already stated tonight, ICE is shooting people in broad daylight, beating up teenagers, spraying tear gas on peaceful protestors, ripping people out of their cars and homes without warrant, racially profiling people based on their accent, taking kids from schools and abducting people, shipping them far away detention camps with brutal conditions and no due process. We cannot treat this as business as usual. That's why I led the entire
Ilhan Omar (08:00):
... Congressional Progressive Caucus in opposing this bill. And we as a caucus adopted an official position, and now we have gotten all of the Democratic senators to agree to that position and hold ICE accountable.
(08:27)
But this president's lawlessness does not stop with ICE and border enforcement. We are seeing how he's threatening Greenland, and Venezuela, and Iran, and Cuba, and Columbia. He has already taken lives in the Caribbean and we passed a war powers... We wanted to pass a war powers resolution to hold him accountable. We are hoping for our Republican colleagues to grow a backbone and come on the right side of history.
(09:09)
The last DC update I will mention, before I take questions from you, is that the House took up legislation from Minnesota member, Representative Stauber, that would open up hundreds of thousands of acres in our beautiful Boundary Waters to mining development. The Boundary Waters is the most visited wilderness in the US. It features peaceful, remote areas, one of the world's largest dark sky sanctuaries, and it is home to unique ecosystems, including several endangered species. And my beautiful children go hiking there and canoeing, and so it is personal to me to preserve it, not just as Minnesotan, but as a mom. Many of my colleagues here, especially Councilwoman Warren, mentioned the fact that constituent work is the backbone of what we do as your representatives. And it is no different, because we are your liaison for the federal government. Our staff can please raise their hand if they are in the room. These people work for you. We can be a crucial line of advocacy for our constituents who are experiencing issues with the federal government, like irregularities, delays, and emergencies. Although it is a difficult environment we are working in right now, our duty remains the same. My district office phone line is monitored from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily.
(11:03)
Congressional casework involving ICE is unique and narrow, but we can help with locating an individual detained by ICE if they are not appearing in a detainee located system within 48 hours. Inquiring on urgent medical issues, to ensure an individual is receiving appropriate medical treatment, ensuring an individual's attorney or loved ones are able to communicate with them. And importantly, our office cannot provide legal advice or assistance. If you are unsure whether we can help with this specific issue, please contact my office at 612-333-1272. I'll repeat that again, 612-333-1272. And we will review whatever detail you want us to review.
(11:58)
So far, we have worked on 800 cases with issues like social security, immigration, taxes, healthcare, and more. Our team has returned more than $4.8 million to our constituents, businesses, and organizations in the district. Like I said, we might not be able to solve every problem, but we will definitely make sure we do everything that we can to try.
(12:23)
Lastly, I want to congratulate a winner of something fun that we do in Congress, which is last year's Congressional App Challenge in the 5th. The App Challenge is intended to engage students in Grade 6 through 12 to create innovative apps that address real life issues in our community. I am pleased to announce that my office selected... It's a hard name. Okay. People say I have a hard name, but oh my goodness. Okay... Ved Bastodkar, and his app, Breadhead, as the winner of the 2025 competition.
(13:12)
Ved's app is a youth centered personal finance app built to challenge the culture of instant gratification through reflection and accountability. Ved is a sophomore at The Blake School in Minneapolis. He is fascinated by math, economics, participates in DECA, Model United Nations, and is a captain of his fencing team. Please help me in congratulating him.
Journalists (13:46):
Can you tell the microphone to say what his name is?
Ilhan Omar (14:08):
Oh, yeah. Say your name correctly.
Journalists (14:08):
And spell it.
Ved Bastodkar (14:15):
Yeah. My name is Ved Bastodkar, V-E-D B-A-S-T-O-D-K-A-R.
Ilhan Omar (14:18):
But you made it sound a lot easier.
Ved Bastodkar (14:20):
I mean, I say it every day. Thank you.
Ilhan Omar (14:25):
Thank you, Ved. Is this his? No. All right. With that, we'll take questions.
Journalists (14:33):
First of all, thank you for staying after that incident.
Ilhan Omar (14:43):
I learned at a young age you don't give into threats. You look them in the face and you stand strong. They pick the wrong person every day. Where's your mic? Right here.
Journalists (15:00):
I do not know the level of Congress... Oh, okay, sorry.
Ilhan Omar (15:03):
Yeah, [inaudible 00:15:04].
Journalists (15:04):
I do not know the level of power Congress has over ICE, but is there anything you as representative could make efforts to try and lead to the arrest of Jonathan Ross and the multiple ICE officers that killed Alex earlier this week?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
They were CBP, not ICE.
Journalists (15:22):
Oh.
Ilhan Omar (15:22):
Yeah. I mean, the law enforcement with the Department of Homeland Security, obviously there are investigations, even if the federal government has chosen not to fully comply in having a transparent investigation. I know Keith Ellison's office, our attorney general, I know that our district attorney, Mary Moriarty, others, have already started the investigations.
(15:47)
And as Keith reminds us every single day, murder is not something that has a statute of limitation. And
Ilhan Omar (16:00):
So regardless of what these people think, we're going to make sure that they are held accountable in every way that we can.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Hi. There's so many ways to help. And one of the things I was thinking of is we have our own MPD that is stretched so thin. Is there anything that we can do to help them? I mean, could we bring in snacks to the office? Just anything that might help them feel better or appreciated. And along those lines, we also have the National Guard now coming in. And so we could apply that to them as well. Showing up with coffee or ... Is there something we can do-
Ilhan Omar (16:55):
I will say one thing that ICE has succeeded in doing is make Minneapolis residents love Minneapolis police. I mean, I say that with the utmost respect. That's the only thing that they've succeeded in doing. No, I mean, it's been beautiful to really see our National Guard passing out donuts and coffee to people at Whipple. Any way in which you can show your gratitude, I think ... What has been the most important piece for all of us is, one, to remain united. Two, not to just feel grateful for those you know who are out there, but to feel grateful for everyone who's out there, because Minnesotans are showing up for one another in ways that people didn't expect. And we are showing the country and the world what real solidarity looks like. And we should be goddamn proud of ourselves. So yes, whether you are showing up to say thank you to protestors and people who are documenting or saying thank you to those that are keeping the peace, whether it is the sheriff's office or MPD, I would encourage it. I would assume that would be fine with them.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
[inaudible 00:18:22].
Ilhan Omar (18:22):
Well, yes. Obviously you want to make sure they're not scared that you're trying to poison them. Yeah, that's true. We'll take one right here.
Speaker 6 (18:37):
I'm just curious, we've seen now multiple cities be invaded by ICE and it seems as though they've left, right? LA, Portland. Do we have any sort of understanding of what they're ... Is there a quota that they have to meet or a certain time? How can we grasp when they could potentially leave when their whatever objective has been fulfilled?
Ilhan Omar (19:00):
So what we do know now is that there is some agreement, we don't have the full details, that Border Patrol will leave. It is my understanding, you mentioned being overwhelmed, there's 4,000, 5,000 of federal law enforcement that has besieged, not just our city, but our state. And so it is my understanding that those that are tasked to control the border, exercising the 100 mile rule for Minneapolis, at least will leave. And the timeline was today, so they might have already gone. I saw reporting about 800 of them have already left. And so we'll be tracking that to see how many more of them leave.
(19:48)
Generally, the way ICE used to operate is that there's two kinds, and you've seen our corrections department clarify this. You've seen Hennepin County talk about it. Generally, there are two paths. One is that someone has been adjudicated. They were arrested for a crime. If their crime is a felony and they were not a US citizen, oftentimes they would finish their sentence, because they committed the crime against us and we want them held accountable, and then once their sentence ends, the corrections would call and say, "We have someone being released at this time on this day, in the next week or month." And they basically turn them over in the parking lot. Now, that person obviously has the right to ask for a judge to prolong the time they're here to contest their removal. Sometimes you hear these stories or people who've been green card holders for 30 years. They came here as a baby sometimes. And so those removals take a long time, but they are in ICE detention as they're going through those.
(21:15)
We also used to have before, maybe six, seven months ago, law that said you couldn't indefinitely detain people if they did not have an actual crime that they were being detained for. And we know that immigration in itself, a violation of immigration is not a crime in itself. So the other way, which is kind of what they're saying they're doing now, which is not the way it's supposed to be done, normally the way it gets done is that you have an order of removal for someone and you try to find out where that person might be. You do surveillance, you talk to known people to them, you find their previous employment, you find a way, and then they do those raids early in the morning, 6:00 AM, where people are not really out trying to find the person in that home or in that business that they thought they might be in.
(22:09)
And so we do know that the way that this is being carried out, and you've seen the incidents in where they're literally jumping out of a car or breaking a car window or trying to get into somebody's space. That is not enforcement, that is terrorizing, that is terror. And those are not the kind of tactics we are known to have in our cities. Those are the kind of tactics we're known to have cities outside of the United States where people are brutalized. And so that's why we've been so opposed to it.
(22:40)
We'll do right there.
Speaker 7 (22:51):
Hi, I just wanted to first say thank you so much for all you're doing for us. I'm just so proud that you're our representative, so thank you. And I'm just wondering what can we do to maybe get some of your colleagues to have the same fire you have? It's really incredibly disheartening to see folks saying we need body cams on ICE or just more training. That's really, really discouraging. And I want to see more folks follow your lead. So what can we do to put the pressure on them?
Ilhan Omar (23:26):
Yeah. I think we're seeing that. I mean, certainly for my Democratic colleagues here that represent you all collectively have felt like the way that we are being terrorized and the fact that there aren't guardrails for there to be justice and accountability reminds them of the fact that many of us have been saying this since ICE was created. When it was with DOJ, there was more accountability. This version of it that we've now had to live
Ilhan Omar (24:00):
... for a little over 20 years, it's not a version that allows for respect for our constitutional rights. And so I think they're doing it to themselves. They're showing these lawmakers the mistake that they made in voting for their existence, in voting to give them money, because what they are doing is just so blatantly lawless. So just keep sharing. I didn't know if you were protesting. I didn't know if you were saying don't call on her.
Speaker 8 (24:44):
I would like to say that I'm very proud of you as our representative and I am so glad that you are our leader. And I want to ask something on a very personal note. I'm an immigrant. I came from the Philippines. I went and got everything that I was supposed to do. And I actually lived through the EDSA Revolution, and I felt that if I could make it to the United States, I'll be okay.
(25:21)
At this moment, we didn't know how it was going to turn out, but we made a pledge, the Filipinos, that we would be there for each other. And I have seen you Minnesotans do the very same thing. And I'm very proud of you and it is my honor to be with you. I'm asking on a very personal note. Some people, specifically me, some people did not go to their SNAP renewal. Some people didn't renew their medical because I won't be able to go home.
(26:25)
And I have my certificate of naturalization and the interview is supposed to be in-person, but I don't know if I can make it back home. So my question is, this is some people, which is specifically me, and I don't want to go because I am not well-behaved, and I'm not sure who would bail me out for causing good trouble.
Speaker 9 (26:59):
I would.
Speaker 8 (27:00):
So is there a way for us to submit papers? Is there a way for us? I know there's protocol, there's regulations. But where I'm supposed to go? They're staging, and I can't outrun them. So I don't know. So if there's a way for us to do interviews, not in-person. So I'm just asking. So I would like to have SNAP benefits. I would like to have medical.
Ilhan Omar (27:40):
Yeah, I hear you.
Speaker 8 (27:41):
So that's my question. And I just want to ask, it's not just me, there's several of us.
Ilhan Omar (27:48):
And you live... Am I your representative?
Speaker 8 (27:53):
Yes, you are.
Ilhan Omar (27:54):
Okay. All right. Then I know where you live. Okay. Just wonder if you're in a different area then. So you know what? I have been in the United States a month short of 30. That is 90% of the amount of time that I've been alive. So I know people talk about me and Somalia. I don't know any home the way I know this home. And so I do feel a strong sentiment towards immigrants that find home in the United States.
(28:37)
And I know that even though I'm a Congresswoman, even though I'm a citizen, I carry my passport with me because I don't want to not be able to provide. And I know that in some cases that hasn't been enough. But to answer your question, is that there are mobile vehicles that you can schedule where they will come and do the interview in a place where you're comfortable to be able to take those interviews. And so check in with your caseworker and let them know how vulnerable you feel. I will also say, again, Minnesotans were just amazing. There's so many mutual aid opportunities where people might be able to help you out in other ways as well. People talk a lot about illegal immigration and criminals, but what this enforcement has truly done is frighten actual citizens and documented neighbors. The children that are afraid to go to schools, the mothers and fathers that are afraid to drop them off, the elderly shop owners at Karmel Mall, they're all citizens, but they don't want the trauma of seeing men with heavy machine guns because that is who they escaped to come to the United States. They don't want to go through a checkpoint because that is what they escaped to come to the United States. They don't want a gun drawn on them asking for their identification because that's what they escaped to come to the United States.
(30:38)
And so for me, that has been the hardest part to communicate to people because they just don't understand how terrifying it is. One, for just the average person who has never seen this level of weaponization, but it is also severely debilitating and triggering for people who have had machine guns drawn at them at a young age and who thought their only salvation was to find a country like ours, where they never have to worry about that because there's a constitution.
(31:23)
It's known for its liberty and freedoms. And so it's truly heartbreaking, this moment we find ourselves in, but if we know anything about US history, is that everything is temporary and we will find our way out of this. So thank you all.