Operation Midway Blitz Anniversary

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of 1 year since the Federal Government under the Trump administration invaded Chicago, an American city, through Operation Midway Blitz.

President Trump was elected promising to go after ``the worst of the worst,'' but what we saw in Chicago was a spree of violence committed by masked goons against nonviolent citizens who overwhelmingly had no criminal records.

These Federal agents racially profiled people, pepper-sprayed neighborhoods, ripped families apart, and conducted military-style raids all to please much of the racist MAGA base. They did it all solely based on the color of a person's skin or the work they did: construction workers, landscapers, and street vendors like the beloved woman outside my district office who simply sold tamales.

Then they held these people in appalling conditions at the Broadview ICE Processing Center and beat those who protested outside.

ICE agents killed Silverio Villegas Gonzalez after he dropped his children off at school and then blatantly lied about it. Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez, a Montessori teacher, five times and bragged about it. All of this violence was brought on by their own government. It is shameful.

Donald Trump and his top officials, including white supremacist Stephen Miller, tried to take our dignity and divide our community, but they failed.

The people of Chicago organized. We armed ourselves with whistles, phones, and our U.S. Constitution. We looked after each other. Rapid response organizers kept the community informed. Volunteers organized walking groups and carpools to get our children safely to school. Churches and nonprofits delivered groceries for those who were afraid to leave their homes.

In the face of this massive opposition, the Federal Government largely backed down. One year later, people in Chicago are stronger, but many remain fearful and traumatized. Many of these agents continue to operate with impunity and no respect for due process.

However, efforts to hold these agents accountable are moving forward. These criminals cannot continue free and immune after the heinous acts they committed while working under DHS. Operation Midway Blitz serves as a tragic example of why DHS cannot be reformed. It is a rogue, lawless agency built to harm us. It must be dismantled, and in its place, we must rebuild an immigration system that keeps us safe and honors humanity.

When Democrats take over Congress and ultimately the White House, we must act. It has been over 40 years since immigration reform, and we are seeing what that is doing and has done to communities under this administration.

Communities like mine can no longer wait. Honoring Raul Munoz

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Raul Munoz, a beloved community member, entrepreneur, and cultural steward whose work contributed to my community's gastronomic richness.

Raul helped make Little Village the vibrant center of Mexican culture and community that we know today. He first became connected to Taquerias Atotonilco while delivering ingredients in the early 1970s, eventually purchasing the restaurant and ensuring its authentic flavors remain a part of 26th Street, cementing it as one of Little Village's most enduring institutions.

Raul's legacy is more than his restaurant. It is about family, hard work, and the enduring connection between heritage and community. Raul showed that even when people leave their homeland, we never leave our culture behind. We carry it with us and root it in our communities just like Raul did.

Mr. Speaker, my thoughts are with Raul's family and loved ones. May he rest in peace, and may his legacy live on in the community he helped build.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source