Southern California residents shared disastrous effects of Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown at a congressional hearing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration\u2019s ICE raids across southern California have had disastrous effects on the region\u2019s immigrants and swept up US citizens in the process, community leaders and residents said at a congressional hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andrea Velez, an American arrested by US immigration officials over the summer, described how she was accosted by masked agents while on her way to work. She said she was charged with assaulting an officer and held for two days in a federal detention center, where detainees had to pay for a cup in order to have water. The charges against her were ultimately dismissed due to what her attorney described<\/a> as a lack of evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Democrats organized the hours-long congressional oversight hearing in Los Angeles<\/a> in order to hear testimony about the impacts of Donald Trump\u2019s sweeping deportation agenda, and look at alleged civil rights abuses by federal agents and the \u201cunlawful\u201d detention of US citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery person in our country has a right to due process, regardless of immigration status. It\u2019s critical that the Oversight Committee document and hold accountable those that are defying the constitution, violating civil rights, and terrorizing families and communities,\u201d Robert Garcia, a Democratic California<\/a> congressman, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n