Delia Ramirez

Mrs. RAMIREZ

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 333 and NAY on Roll Call No. 334. Personal Explanation

Mrs. RAMIREZ

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my constituent, Omar Martinez Gonzalez. Omar is an advocate fighting for the resources that immigrant, Black, Brown, and underserved communities need and deserve to prevent, treat, and end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As a queer Latino immigrant, Omar has experienced firsthand the importance of high-quality, culturally competent healthcare and HIV prevention services. His experience has motivated him to build a world where no one is denied quality healthcare services because of their background, citizenship status, identity, or circumstance. For almost two decades, from Chicago to Boston, this young man has implemented and coordinated health programs to increase access to HIV testing and prevention. He has fought for the rights and dignity of our neighbors living with HIV or AIDS, including our LGBTQI+ community and undocumented neighbors, and has advocated to protect and expand the funding necessary to end the HIV epidemic. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, it is my honor to commend Omar Martinez Gonzalez for his work to ensure that our neighbors, no matter their sexual orientation, gender expression, ZIP Code, background, HIV status, or citizenship status receive every single thing they need and deserve to live healthy, thriving lives. I congratulate Omar. Honoring Mario Vega

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mario Vega for his work to create spaces that uplift our young people and build safe and thriving communities. Mario has transformed his own personal experiences, growing up in Chicago, to realize safety in our communities by investing in our city's young people. Through the establishment of the Chicago Youth Boxing Club, and as the director of mentoring at New Life Centers, Mario understands that building community and building relationships are the recipe for safer neighborhoods. Through his mentorship of young people, including those in my own community of Humboldt Park, he sees, values, and affirms young people and supports their journey to find their confidence and purpose. Mario's work has been recognized in ``Beacons of Hope: Stories of Strength from Chicago,'' but the true measure of his impact is seen in the violence epidemic he interrupts and the young people who, as a result, chart a new path for themselves full of possibilities. On behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, it is my honor to commend Mario Vega for reminding us that when we invest in our youth, we are actually investing in peace. I congratulate Mario. Recognizing Rita Kollias

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, during this holiday season, which has been so difficult for so many families, I rise to recognize the joy and hope that Rita Kollias facilitates in DuPage County in Illinois' Third Congressional District. After serving for 10 years in the United States Marine Corps, Rita has dedicated over 20 years of her life to coordinating the Marine Corps Reserve DuPage County Toys for Tots program. The program distributes thousands of toys to more than 25,000 children via a network of local nonprofit organizations, churches, and community agencies. Whether she is coordinating drop-off sites, recruiting volunteers, or searching for donated warehouse space, Rita's logistical skill set matches her passion and her dedication. Rita has described her late hours and working weekends with the Marine Corps Reserve DuPage County Toys for Tots program as an obsession, one she pursues as an expression of care for her local community and area families. For her neighbors, her obsession ensures that children in our communities feel seen and valued. On behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District and this House of Representatives, I acknowledge that these holidays are more brightened because of Rita. It is my honor to commend Rita Kollias. I thank her for her service.

Mrs. RAMIREZ

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order hour.

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, as a Chicagoan, I know firsthand the terror that Trump's mass deportation agenda and the Department of Homeland Security's immigration raids are having on our communities. My constituents have been surveilled, threatened, teargassed, hit with pepper balls, and shot. They have been subjected to warrantless arrests, rammed with Department of Homeland Security vehicles, kidnapped, and disappeared. People keep asking us why DHS agents are allowed to behave this way. Why isn't Congress doing something about it? Let me start by saying that DHS was intentionally established with an overbroad mission and, some would argue, unchecked power. Yet, Republicans have expanded that power with a blank check and unlimited personnel. With his authoritarian tendencies, his power grabs, his overreach, and his willingness to shamelessly use DHS as his own terror force, Trump is only making visible what so many communities have already known to be true: Terrorizing is the point. Violating our rights is the point. Fear is the point. Creating a public enemy is meant to convince Americans to sacrifice our freedoms for the promise of security. Let me be very clear. Nothing that the Department of Homeland Security is doing is making us any safer. In this moment, under Secretary Noem and under Donald Trump, DHS has become the single greatest threat to public safety. DHS agents used chemical weapons on protesters and bystanders at least 49 times across 18 incidents in Chicago and the suburbs since October 1. Bovino and CBP agents are violating court injunctions and agency rules. They are lying in court about incidents where civilians have been put in danger. The government alleges that Marimar Martinez used her car to assault and impede Federal law enforcement, but then, Federal prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss their own case. Why? It is because while she didn't assault the agents, they did shoot her five times, and then they went on and bragged about it. You see, Mr. Speaker, President Trump and DHS are lying. They are acting with impunity. They are rejecting checks and balances, and they are ignoring Congress and the courts. Here is my question to this House: If DHS cannot be held accountable, if we are obstructed from conducting oversight, and if they are systematically undermining our civil rights and perpetrating violence in our communities, then what, in fact, is Congress' responsibility? You see, Mr. Speaker, the answer is clear. We must strip away every tool they are using to terrorize us, starting with the taxpayer dollars that they are using to harm Americans. Today, in our Special Order hour, I am going to be yielding to my colleagues who will highlight stories of victims of Trump's enforcement overreach, discuss our ongoing work to hold the administration accountable, and uplift how we are pushing back against the abuses of this President, Secretary Noem, and of the entire administration. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington State (Ms. Jayapal).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for her leadership. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat), who is the chair of the Hispanic Caucus.

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Espaillat for his constant leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Garcia).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Carbajal).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Salinas).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for her leadership. I now yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Congresswoman. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. McGarvey).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congressman for his words. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Dexter).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for her words. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Rivas).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, as you can hear from my colleagues here, we are living the reality of this nightmare across the country. That is why we are here to push back. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke) for her leadership. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Vargas) to talk more about how enough is enough.

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, may those that quote Scripture remember what the Scripture says. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Grijalva).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres).

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for her remarks. May we remember, I think she said $96.7 billion is what undocumented immigrants give in tax revenue every single year. I yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Ansari) to close the speakers for the day.

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is this: What is happening today in our communities is not an accident, it is not new. DHS is not rogue. From its establishment, DHS has always been empowered to violate our rights under the pretense of securing our safety. It is why they wear masks, why they refuse to wear badges, why they won't identify themselves, and why they resist oversight and accountability. They were designed to operate in shadow and secrecy because they are waging a war against the American people. You may not know it because they just haven't come for you yet. Trump's authoritarian fascist tendencies, his power grabs, his overreach, and his willingness to shamelessly use DHS as his own terror force is only making visible what so many communities have already known to be true: DHS is a democratic liability and a tool for authoritarian control. Nothing that DHS is doing is making us any safer, and Americans, frankly, they are done. We see through the lies. We cannot assure our security by sacrificing our humanity, our dignity, or our liberty. We have seen what DHS can do with its unlimited resources and unchecked power, and we say enough. DHS has to be held accountable. Today, as you have heard the stories from my colleagues of Trump's immigration enforcement overreach, I want to encourage you to remember history and context. We brought DHS into this world less than 25 years ago. We can build a world without it as well. I thank my colleagues who joined today's Special Order on Trump's immigration overreach. We understand that true security is built by investing in people, and as Members of Congress we must actively build that world through policies that defend and expand our rights and civil liberties, not crush them. That is the work we must do, and we must resist the fear that would tell us that we must surrender our rights and forfeit our values in order to protect the little we have when we deserve so much more. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. RAMIREZ

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Marisol Velez, known as Pinqy Ring. She is a rooted, revolutionary Puerto Rican emcee from Chicago, decolonizing minds as a rapper, educator, mentor, and speaker. As a cultural worker and disruptor, Pinqy's music ignites our imaginations and sustains our struggle against displacement and erasure. As an educator and mentor, she shapes the next generation of creative changemakers through culturally rooted programming and radical care. Pinqy is a GRAMMY U mentor. She sits on the National Advisory Board for Music Will and serves as a U.S. Hip Hop Cultural Ambassador to facilitate cultural diplomacy programming and conflict transformation through music. In her roles, she is shaping the first-ever K-12 hip-hop guidelines with the Hip-Hop Education Center. On behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, I commend her.

Mrs. RAMIREZ

Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor my constituent Cecilia Mendoza, a defender and advocate for our constitutional rights. Cecilia's passion for justice is reflected across her entire career, from her beginnings as a community organizing intern with the Illinois Hunger Coalition, to her work as an immigration service coordinator with Family Focus, and eventually to her role as the associate director of Government Relations with the National Immigrant Justice Center. As our city has come together to defend each other, Cecilia has been an indispensable asset to my office and to the immigrant rights movement, advancing equity and inclusion through research, policy, and community resources. Through her leadership, we are better equipped to continue welcoming and protecting those seeking refuge in the United States. On behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, it is my honor to commend Cecilia Mendoza for using her power and voice to protect our immigrant neighbors and build a welcoming Nation that we hope for and deserve. Congratulations to Cecilia.