President Trump's Immigration Enforcement Policies

Floor Speech

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Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak against the administration's immigration enforcement policies.

For months the President and House Republicans have said that they are only targeting violent criminals.

Why is it, then, that last week ICE attempted to deport a constituent of mine who had been granted legal protections against removal under the Convention Against Torture?

This woman, the victim of unspeakable crimes in her home country, came here to the United States for her safety which is now being undermined by this administration.

Mr. Speaker, imagine being a United States citizen and the horror you would feel when your family member, again, someone who had been granted legal protection, is taken in the middle of the night and driven to Mexico, a country to which she has no ties.

How is this making our country safer?

How is this upholding the ideals of our Nation?

Mr. Speaker, when this administration talks about mass deportations, this is what they mean: taking people in the middle of the night who have a right to be here and trying to remove them to foreign countries.

My office is doing everything we can to help this woman and her family, but it begs the question: If this is how the administration treats someone with an attorney and the support of a Member of Congress, what does that mean for all those who don't have anyone fighting for them? Who is speaking up for them? If we say nothing, then what does that say about us?

This can't be what we stand for as a country. As a grandson of immigrants and the Representative of a proud immigrant community, it is something that I will always fight against. GOP Attempting to Undermine Separation of Powers

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Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, in recent weeks, the Trump administration and House Republicans have set their sights on the Federal judiciary, calling for unprecedented changes to our courts, attacking the character of dedicated Federal judges, and attempting to undermine the separation of powers that has upheld our democracy for centuries.

As an attorney by trade, I understand how concerning this is for our Nation's future. In this moment, we cannot be silent nor treat these attacks as normal.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to read excerpts from the American Bar Association's statement on the Republican assault on our judiciary into the record.

``There have now been statements by officials criticizing judges for not following the last people. Judges swear oaths to follow the law, not public opinion polling or political chatter or what someone contends is the will of the people. The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court wrote in his `2024 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary': ` . . . Attempts to intimidate judges for their rulings in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed.'

``We may disagree with interpretation of case law, but it is unacceptable to personally target judges just because we disagree with their ruling. We cannot have a judicial system where the government seeks to remove judges simply because they do not rule as the government desires. Considering the increasing physical threats to judges, these are clearly efforts to intimidate judges and our courts.''

``We reject efforts to undermine the courts and the profession. We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not. Words and actions matter. And the intimidating words and actions we have heard must end.''

``Consistent with the Chief Justice's report, these efforts cannot be sanctioned or normalized. There are clear choices facing our profession. We can choose to remain silent and allow these acts to continue or we can stand for the rule of law and values we hold dear. We call upon the entire profession, including lawyers who serve in elected positions, to speak out against intimidation. We acknowledge that there are risks to standing up and addressing these important issues. But if the ABA and lawyers do not speak, who will speak for the organized bar? Who will speak for the judiciary? Who will protect our system of justice? If we don't speak now, when will we speak?

``The American Bar Association has chosen to stand and speak. Now is the time for all of us to speak with one voice. We invite you to stand with us.''

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