Rep. Summer Lee Condemns ICE Raids in Los Angeles, Trump Admin’s Abuse of Power

Video of Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – JUNE 12, 2025 — Today in a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) condemned the Trump Administration’s use of overzealous ICE agents tearing families apart and the deployment of the National Guard and Marines on the American citizens people their First Amendment rights. 

In her line of questioning with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Democracy Forward Foundation CEO and President Skye Perryman, Rep. Lee outlined the Trump Administration’s cruel and chaotic immigration policies hurting not just migrants but American citizens being wrongfully profiled and arrested. 

Footage from the hearing can be found here, and a transcript is below.

REP. LEE: It’s aways funny the lack of decorum that we get, and people drop—we do drop the gentlemen act here oftentimes, when attacking women who aren't able to defend themselves with equal time. But that's kind of the theme here, right? Attacking Americans or people who are not able to defend themselves, or at least who Republicans hope can't defend themselves, and that's what we're seeing, essentially, in Los Angeles. So I would say that this hearing is quite timely. What's happening with ICE and the military in Los Angeles is terrifying and is directly caused by Trump's policies and his cruelty. 

It was Trump's overzealous ICE agents who started this specific incident, and now they want us to get bogged down and arguing over the right types of protests or the right types of way or the right way to defend yourself, the mythical perfect type, so that we could ignore that Trump is the one who is escalating all of this. 

Trump is the one who ordered in thousands of National Guardsmen over the objection of Governor Newsom, something that hasn't been done since 1965. Trump is the one deploying Marines, not on an enemy abroad, but on the American people who are exercising their First Amendment right in this instance, the only opportunity that they have to defend themselves against lawless lawmakers who are imposing cruelty upon them. For party of so-called law and order folks, they sure are stampeding over people's constitutional rights and intentionally inciting more chaos, more fear, more anxiety, and increasing the likelihood that people will get hurt. In the end, what's happening in Los Angeles is just one of many incidents where Trump and his administration have not given a single down about people's safety. For one, the ICE and DHS agents that are arresting people or raiding places often don't even have any kind of uniform or identifying badge. They're masked and they're in unmarked cars. Ms Perryman just briefly, why is it so dangerous to have masked, plain clothes ICE agents arresting people?

MS. PERRYMAN: So I'll just thank you, Congresswoman for your question. I'll go back to what I said before that we know our Constitution recognizes and our country recognizes the importance of trust between local law enforcement, the federal government, and governors. And what we're seeing here is a breach of trust. It's an escalation and it's dangerous for the American people.

REP. LEE: Trump said he was only going to go after undocumented criminals, but that's clearly not the case, whether through incompetence or straight up racial profiling, ICE and DHS, agents are wrongfully arresting U.S. citizens. We've talked about it today, and they're catching these mistakes often happens too late after an American citizen has already been illegally thrown into another country, and Trump's administration is doing nothing to get them back. These agents are also going into previously protected spaces, as we've discussed, like churches and schools and hospitals. DHS agents try to get into an elementary school by lying that they had the permission from the parents. That is a cartoonish level of evil. ICE also arrested a Massachusetts high school senior, Marcelo Gomez de Silva on his way to volleyball practice. 

Governor Walz, you're a former teacher and coach. Do you think these kinds of actions create instability for students, and you worry about increasing anxiety of kids coming to school?

GOV. WALZ: Well, thank you, Congresswoman. I certainly do. Creating that safe environment where our kids can come and the expectation is to learn, they certainly do. Once again, there is, there's no reason to use these enforcement actions at those locations when there are other tools. And I think again, this false equivalency that we do not want violent criminals to be arrested, detained and go through due process. We do, but hugely detrimental to educational system, hugely detrimental to a system that is dependent on trust and the good will of everyone in that school system. So yes, it is detrimental. Thank you.

REP. LEE: Thank you, Governor Walz. The same kids getting arrested are often being separated from their families. They are scared. They're alone. An attorney is one of the few resources they had access to that is now being taken away as well. The Trump administration has canceled contracts with legal groups that represent those undocumented children in immigration court. This is going to force thousands of kids as young as two-years-old to represent themselves very quickly, as we're running out of time. Ms. Perryman, how's a two-year-old supposed to represent themselves in court?

MS. PERRYMAN: A two-year-old can't represent itself in court—him or herself in court. And I'll just say that we are in court every single day, seeking to try to ensure that people have access to legal representation, which, of course, this administration is really seeking to curtail. They are seeking to ignore due process rights.

REP. LEE: I was gonna say, would you say that it is due process if a two year old is left to represent themselves?

MS. PERRYMAN: Absolutely, it's a flagrant violation of our Constitution. It's also something that shocks the conscience.

REP. LEE: We’ll leave it there. Thank you. I yield back.

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.4 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.