WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:02.600 Some new incredibly disturbing reporting from the New York Times 2 00:00:02.850 --> 00:00:06.990 detailing how detainees have been treated by the Trump regime's 3 00:00:07.269 --> 00:00:14.929 Immigration Customs Enforcement Agency. And when you read it, it's abusive, 4 00:00:15.310 --> 00:00:19.530 violent treatment, months in detention, moved from facility to facility 5 00:00:19.629 --> 00:00:22.269 to thwart the ability of these detainees to be able 6 00:00:22.309 --> 00:00:29.809 to find some legal recourse. Beaten by agents. deporting plane 7 00:00:29.870 --> 00:00:32.909 loads of deportees to third countries with which they have 8 00:00:33.289 --> 00:00:37.810 zero connection, like Liberia and Equatorial Guinea. When they're released 9 00:00:37.969 --> 00:00:41.189 in these third countries, they are put into the custody 10 00:00:41.469 --> 00:00:44.530 with armed guards watching them, so they're really not even 11 00:00:44.649 --> 00:00:47.899 free in these places that they are going. Some other 12 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:53.420 incredibly horrific accounting of psychological torture from ICE officials while 13 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:58.060 here on United States soil... tying up pregnant women, their 14 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:02.939 hands and ankles tied together like cattle. Psychological warfare, moving 15 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.959 more than six times, eight months in detention, moving from 16 00:01:06.019 --> 00:01:09.540 facility to facility, kept in detention centers with 50 people 17 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:13.439 sharing one toilet, being held for days in cold rooms 18 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:14.329 called the freezer. 19 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:19.310 I mean, this is the type of stories that we 20 00:01:19.370 --> 00:01:19.810 are reading. 21 00:01:20.010 --> 00:01:23.430 And this is the norm, people. This is the norm 22 00:01:23.469 --> 00:01:29.379 for detainees. when they are being processed like animals by ICE. 23 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:36.760 And there is a congresswoman who is facing criminal prosecution 24 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:42.209 by the Trump DOJ, having been weaponized because why not 25 00:01:42.750 --> 00:01:46.430 scare into silence members of Congress by prosecuting them for 26 00:01:46.469 --> 00:01:51.849 doing their jobs? Think about how powerful it is. The 27 00:01:51.969 --> 00:01:56.519 chilling effect on members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, let's 28 00:01:56.579 --> 00:02:00.859 be clear, who would speak out, who would go and 29 00:02:00.909 --> 00:02:05.849 do oversight, which is their legal and official responsibility to do, 30 00:02:06.790 --> 00:02:09.650 but they're not doing it because they are seeing one 31 00:02:09.789 --> 00:02:13.849 lone member of Congress, LaMonica McIver, being prosecuted for doing 32 00:02:13.889 --> 00:02:18.560 her job. And when I tell you that she saw 33 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:21.699 before it was en vogue, for people to see the 34 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:25.240 horrors of these detention facilities. She saw what was going 35 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:28.719 on at Delaney Hall in May of 2025, and she 36 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:34.039 went with two of her colleagues from the Congress to 37 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:39.639 go and conduct oversight. Her legal responsibility, her official responsibility. 38 00:02:39.699 --> 00:02:40.439 She went and she did it. 39 00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:46.879 And for that, she's being punished because of a vengeful, 40 00:02:47.099 --> 00:02:52.900 vindictive Trump administration. that doesn't hesitate to weaponize its Department 41 00:02:52.939 --> 00:02:57.810 of Justice to silence critics and opponents, especially women of color. 42 00:02:59.729 --> 00:03:00.990 I want you to think about this. 43 00:03:01.710 --> 00:03:06.349 Congresswoman McIver is pregnant with her second child. In just 44 00:03:06.550 --> 00:03:09.340 a few months, she will be out on maternity leave. 45 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:13.379 She is battling the, what I call, most powerful law 46 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:15.520 firm in the world, the Department of Justice. 47 00:03:16.099 --> 00:03:19.419 She has a young child at home, a little. 48 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:24.620 Girl, And I can't imagine the stress. You want to 49 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:28.389 talk about psychological torture? That's what they're trying to exact 50 00:03:28.509 --> 00:03:31.990 on Congresswoman McIver. And yet, what does she do? She 51 00:03:32.009 --> 00:03:33.830 gets up every day and she goes and she does 52 00:03:33.889 --> 00:03:36.930 her job. And she does it well. And that must 53 00:03:37.069 --> 00:03:40.830 piss off the Trump administration. It must make them so 54 00:03:40.909 --> 00:03:44.000 mad that she's not hiding in the corner, cowering out 55 00:03:44.009 --> 00:03:46.539 of fear. She is standing up, speaking out, and doing 56 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:50.039 her damn job every single day. And again, for that 57 00:03:50.949 --> 00:03:55.969 This DOJ is unrelenting. The trial court judge and federal 58 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.800 court presiding over her criminal case denied her motion to dismiss. 59 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:02.840 She appealed to the Third Circuit. She just got a 60 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:07.900 ruling last week and a split vote. And unfortunately, her 61 00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:12.650 prosecution continues. So the prospect, the specter of a jury 62 00:04:12.689 --> 00:04:17.329 trial is now looming for Congresswoman McIver. But there is 63 00:04:17.410 --> 00:04:21.439 no alternative, right? Because the truth The truth is on 64 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:24.560 her side. We saw what happened outside of Delaney Hall 65 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:28.990 in May of 2025. We saw the chaos, the confusion, 66 00:04:30.750 --> 00:04:35.470 the calamity, the crowd, the shoving that was happening, not 67 00:04:35.509 --> 00:04:40.000 by the congresswoman, but by CBP, ICE, and other federal agents. 68 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:42.480 It was chaos. 69 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:47.500 And in the midst of that chaos, how in the 70 00:04:47.540 --> 00:04:52.470 world does the Trump administration say, that she assaulted federal officers. 71 00:04:55.129 --> 00:04:58.629 What I find to be incredibly remarkable is if Congresswoman 72 00:04:58.649 --> 00:05:03.040 McIver was such a threat, such a threat to these 73 00:05:03.379 --> 00:05:08.220 federal agents, why then take her on a guided escorted 74 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:11.259 tour of Delaney Hall for two and a half hours 75 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:16.170 after she allegedly assaulted federal officers? Why? 76 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:19.779 Because she didn't do anything wrong in the first instance. Why? 77 00:05:20.220 --> 00:05:24.000 Because this administration is full of shit. And that's a 78 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:29.459 legal concept. What a waste of time, energy, resources, money 79 00:05:30.420 --> 00:05:34.379 to prosecute a sitting member of Congress. And no, it's 80 00:05:34.430 --> 00:05:37.430 not a coincidence that she's a Democrat. And no, it's 81 00:05:37.470 --> 00:05:41.470 not a coincidence that she's Black and female. That is 82 00:05:41.529 --> 00:05:47.550 the defendant du jour of this particular Trump DOJ. This 83 00:05:47.589 --> 00:05:50.740 will all come back to blow up in their faces. 84 00:05:51.899 --> 00:05:57.189 But in the meantime, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver forges ahead, kicking ass, 85 00:05:57.470 --> 00:06:01.730 taking names, and doing her job exceptionally well. Because that's 86 00:06:01.810 --> 00:06:04.490 all she's ever known, and that's all she will continue 87 00:06:04.509 --> 00:06:07.689 to do. I invited her to sit down to talk 88 00:06:07.730 --> 00:06:11.980 about the latest of her case, but to focus on 89 00:06:12.019 --> 00:06:17.120 what she focuses on, which are the people, Americans, detainees. 90 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:22.120 And why it's so critically, critically important to stay the course, 91 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:25.439 even when the headwinds are strong and even when it 92 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:27.699 seems like the deck is stacked against you. 93 00:06:28.660 --> 00:06:29.120 Take a listen. 94 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:32.560 Joining me now for an incredibly important update and conversation 95 00:06:32.620 --> 00:06:37.139 is Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, representing New Jersey's 10th congressional district. 96 00:06:37.509 --> 00:06:38.829 Congresswoman, it's good to see you. 97 00:06:38.850 --> 00:06:41.629 I always wish you and I could have conversations under 98 00:06:41.750 --> 00:06:45.069 better circumstances, but you and I are realists, right? So 99 00:06:45.089 --> 00:06:47.420 we got to face the realities of what's going on here. 100 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:49.920 The latest update being that the Third Circuit Court of 101 00:06:49.980 --> 00:06:54.720 Appeals declining to dismiss the indictment against you, three pending charges, 102 00:06:54.899 --> 00:06:57.480 two were upheld in terms of the denial of your 103 00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:00.310 motion to dismiss from the trial court level, and then 104 00:07:00.329 --> 00:07:03.490 a third being sent back for some more factual and 105 00:07:03.769 --> 00:07:07.209 kind of other like legal developments. But clearly not something 106 00:07:07.250 --> 00:07:08.629 you wanted to get from the Third Circuit. 107 00:07:09.250 --> 00:07:11.370 Absolutely. Well, first of all, it's good to see you, Katie. 108 00:07:11.410 --> 00:07:13.470 It's always good to be on with you to chat. 109 00:07:14.269 --> 00:07:17.790 I mean, definitely the opinion was not what we expected. 110 00:07:17.829 --> 00:07:21.449 It's not what I hoped and prayed for, obviously. And 111 00:07:21.629 --> 00:07:25.459 it's just honestly exhausting that this is still going on. 112 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:28.439 It feels like it's been 20 years of battling this, 113 00:07:28.459 --> 00:07:32.040 but it's been over a year of dealing with this. 114 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:36.589 And it's just unfortunate and just crazy that This is 115 00:07:36.629 --> 00:07:39.850 the focus of the Department of Justice right now, what 116 00:07:39.870 --> 00:07:42.689 they're focused on, literally trying to send me to jail 117 00:07:42.750 --> 00:07:48.569 for 17 years. And so definitely, you know, just just unbelievable. Yeah. 118 00:07:48.670 --> 00:07:52.329 You know, look, I read and I hear the exposure 119 00:07:52.370 --> 00:07:54.870 in this case, 17 years in prison for you doing 120 00:07:54.889 --> 00:07:58.410 your job, conducting congressional oversight over a detention facility, which 121 00:07:58.449 --> 00:08:00.990 you are legally allowed. 122 00:08:00.629 --> 00:08:03.319 To do, despite what the Trump administration would like to say. 123 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:06.720 You know, Congresswoman, I'm going to speak bluntly, as I 124 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:09.019 always do, you are pregnant with your second child. 125 00:08:10.009 --> 00:08:11.850 You are due imminently. 126 00:08:11.870 --> 00:08:15.050 You have a child at home who is young. I mean, 127 00:08:15.089 --> 00:08:18.329 I want people to understand that this is obviously something 128 00:08:18.370 --> 00:08:20.730 that weighs heavily on you as you continue to do 129 00:08:20.810 --> 00:08:24.350 your duties as a representative of your district. 130 00:08:24.389 --> 00:08:26.209 But I mean, this has got to weigh on you 131 00:08:26.290 --> 00:08:26.870 so heavily. 132 00:08:27.610 --> 00:08:31.180 Absolutely. I mean, it's tiring, right? It's like I said, 133 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:33.860 the only thing I can say to describe it is 134 00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:37.799 it's exhausting and it's disheartening to know that I'm being 135 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:42.350 prosecuted for doing my job and having to raise the dollars, 136 00:08:42.450 --> 00:08:45.049 having to, you know, meet with lawyers all the time, 137 00:08:45.129 --> 00:08:48.210 fight this case for over a year now while being 138 00:08:48.330 --> 00:08:51.269 a mom, which Katie, you know, that's a taxing job 139 00:08:51.309 --> 00:08:55.269 by itself, you know, and then expecting the child as well. 140 00:08:55.409 --> 00:08:59.750 It's just, it's really, really just crazy. to be dealing 141 00:08:59.789 --> 00:09:02.100 with all of this. But at the same time, my 142 00:09:02.129 --> 00:09:05.740 joy is still intact, Katie. I'm still working, still doing 143 00:09:05.769 --> 00:09:08.419 my job, still serving the people of the 10th. We've 144 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:11.879 had a successful, you know, a year in district, bringing 145 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:14.639 back dollars to the district and standing up and fighting 146 00:09:14.659 --> 00:09:17.720 for the people that I represent despite all of it. 147 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.539 And I'm sure that's not what this administration wanted me 148 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:23.620 to do to keep flying high and keep keeping my 149 00:09:23.659 --> 00:09:25.700 head up, you know, through all of this, but I am, 150 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:27.799 and I'm going to continue to do so and continue 151 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:30.549 to fight and protect the people that, you know, God 152 00:09:30.570 --> 00:09:32.250 has assigned to me to protect. 153 00:09:33.250 --> 00:09:34.820 Yeah, and you're being humble here. I want to make 154 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:38.740 sure people understand the numbers. Over $ 10 million you have 155 00:09:38.779 --> 00:09:42.399 brought back to your district, despite everything that the administration 156 00:09:42.460 --> 00:09:45.399 is throwing at you, including these outrageous criminal charges. More 157 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:48.220 than $ 10 million you have brought back to your district 158 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:52.710 for community projects. If this administration... worked half as hard 159 00:09:52.750 --> 00:09:55.419 as you to be able to deliver for the American people. 160 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:58.590 I mean, gosh, we'd get a lot more done, but 161 00:09:58.610 --> 00:10:01.539 the reality is the weapon of the Department of Justice 162 00:10:01.580 --> 00:10:03.919 has now been well documented. 163 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:08.409 It has been well seen by even a layperson, right? 164 00:10:08.429 --> 00:10:09.049 You don't have to be a. 165 00:10:09.129 --> 00:10:11.950 Lawyer to see what is happening here, number one. this 166 00:10:11.990 --> 00:10:15.769 administration targeting Black women, especially Black women in power, you, 167 00:10:15.909 --> 00:10:18.919 Tish James, Lisa Cook, and others. Number one, but number two, 168 00:10:18.980 --> 00:10:21.480 you remain the only member of Congress who is being 169 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:23.580 prosecuted by Trump's DOJ. 170 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:28.919 Yeah, I mean, crazy. But at the same time, their 171 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:32.139 agenda is never about helping the American people. It is 172 00:10:32.210 --> 00:10:36.940 about cruelty, chaos, and getting back at anyone who does 173 00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:39.230 not agree with them. They're critics. And this is what 174 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:41.690 they've really been focused on. I mean, if they focused, 175 00:10:41.750 --> 00:10:44.450 if they put all the energy in prosecuting me and 176 00:10:44.529 --> 00:10:48.029 to helping the American people, we would have free health care. Literally, 177 00:10:48.070 --> 00:10:50.809 things would be affordable. There would be more housing. I mean, 178 00:10:50.909 --> 00:10:53.230 you name it. We can go on and on. But literally, 179 00:10:53.269 --> 00:10:56.620 they're truly focused on cruelty. And that is why there's 180 00:10:56.649 --> 00:10:59.799 such an emphasis on hurting Black and brown people, especially 181 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:03.480 Black and brown women. I mean, from literally the cuts 182 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:06.340 and rollbacks of maternal health care, more Black women are 183 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:11.539 You know, giving birth from 300,000 plus Black women being 184 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:15.480 driven out of the federal workforce to the individual attacks 185 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:18.879 that you've mentioned already. It's horrible. But also even down 186 00:11:18.950 --> 00:11:23.149 to immigration, right? Immigration is a part of their, you know, desire, 187 00:11:23.210 --> 00:11:26.629 their racial racist desires. And this is why they're so 188 00:11:26.669 --> 00:11:29.629 focused on Black and brown immigrants. And while you go 189 00:11:29.669 --> 00:11:31.720 to these detention centers and that's all you see there 190 00:11:31.789 --> 00:11:34.950 is Black and brown immigrants there, right? who are, most 191 00:11:34.970 --> 00:11:37.850 of them are here legally, by the way. And it 192 00:11:37.909 --> 00:11:40.700 is just awful to, you know, know that they're doing this, 193 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:44.049 that they're, you know, implementing cruelty laws. on people and 194 00:11:44.190 --> 00:11:47.769 your tax dollars are paying for this. Like this is 195 00:11:47.830 --> 00:11:50.769 not a freebie of cruelty. This is cruelty that is 196 00:11:50.809 --> 00:11:55.289 being sponsored by the American people. Delaney Hall itself, Katie, 197 00:11:55.340 --> 00:11:59.899 has a $ 2 billion contract with the government. Just imagine 198 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:03.519 what that can pay for to literally do this. You know, 199 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:04.100 it's awful. 200 00:12:04.970 --> 00:12:06.429 Yeah, and I want to talk about some of these 201 00:12:06.470 --> 00:12:08.350 immigration issues in a second, but I want to focus 202 00:12:08.389 --> 00:12:12.049 on something as well, which is affordability has recently become 203 00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:14.759 kind of a big catch word in a lot of 204 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.980 the stuff leading up to November. But affordability and an 205 00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:22.379 understanding of what the regular population Working class American needs 206 00:12:22.460 --> 00:12:24.970 has been your focus even before you came to Congress. 207 00:12:25.070 --> 00:12:26.669 And I think people need to know this. 208 00:12:26.789 --> 00:12:28.730 That is not only been a hallmark of your time 209 00:12:28.789 --> 00:12:33.240 as a freshman in Congress, one of the youngest members 210 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:36.820 in Congress coming out of especially your district. But that's 211 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:40.470 been your hallmark, this idea of affordability and the understanding 212 00:12:40.769 --> 00:12:47.250 that everyday working Americans need an administration and a government 213 00:12:47.509 --> 00:12:50.289 that understands why it's there in the first place. 214 00:12:50.740 --> 00:12:53.100 Yeah, that's one of the main reasons I came to Congress, 215 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:55.440 to be honest with you. I mean, starting off at 216 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:57.740 the local level, you know, Katie, you know, I served 217 00:12:57.860 --> 00:13:00.059 on the city council here in the city of Newark 218 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.750 for two terms. And you really get to understand locally 219 00:13:03.809 --> 00:13:06.230 when you are literally boots on the ground, what people 220 00:13:06.289 --> 00:13:09.850 are battling from high rent prices to groceries, to healthcare, 221 00:13:09.889 --> 00:13:13.500 to childcare, expenses. These are things that are impacting people 222 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:17.399 every day. And even now as a Congresswoman with 18 223 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:19.799 cities now, I hear that from place to place of 224 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:23.159 just how hard it is to survive, to wake up 225 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:26.710 every day. You have career people with degrees who are 226 00:13:26.750 --> 00:13:30.019 working two to three jobs every just to make ends meet. 227 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:33.000 And that is literally where, why I came to Congress 228 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:35.360 to get more out of the federal government for people. 229 00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:38.460 And literally I find myself just one trying to keep 230 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:41.289 myself out of jail for 17 years, but also, you know, 231 00:13:41.330 --> 00:13:44.230 keeping the things that we had, the crumbs that we have, 232 00:13:44.269 --> 00:13:46.789 that they're trying to snatch away. That wasn't enough in 233 00:13:46.809 --> 00:13:49.169 the first place. So it's, it's just disheartening to know 234 00:13:49.210 --> 00:13:51.529 that the American people are struggling and we have a 235 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:55.149 president who An administration that's focused on everything else except 236 00:13:55.169 --> 00:13:58.539 for making Americans' lives better and affordable for them. 237 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:02.600 Let's talk about immigration. You've mentioned it so far. You 238 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.500 mentioned Delaney Hall. That obviously is the epicenter of the 239 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:09.529 federal charges that you're facing. One thing that I think 240 00:14:09.570 --> 00:14:12.509 that doesn't get reported enough and I think is important 241 00:14:12.529 --> 00:14:15.580 to underscore right now, Congresswoman, is this. When you went 242 00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:19.419 to Delaney Hall, this was in May of 2025. We 243 00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:22.039 sit here, obviously more than a year later, and you've 244 00:14:22.059 --> 00:14:26.950 been suffering under these ridiculous charges. But a lot of 245 00:14:26.990 --> 00:14:30.409 people knew something was wrong with immigration last year. 246 00:14:31.009 --> 00:14:31.720 And they saw it. 247 00:14:32.129 --> 00:14:34.769 But I really feel like 2026 is when people started 248 00:14:34.809 --> 00:14:37.500 to really pay attention when we saw these huge immigration, 249 00:14:38.289 --> 00:14:41.720 you know, enforcement surges happening in different cities. And then 250 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:45.039 we saw the deaths of the murders of people like 251 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:48.179 Renee Nicole Goode and Alex Pratt in the streets. But 252 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:50.240 the stuff that's happening in the streets is one thing. 253 00:14:50.379 --> 00:14:53.220 It's the stuff happening behind the walls of these detention 254 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:56.039 facilities that we don't get to see because there's no 255 00:14:56.100 --> 00:15:00.870 transparency from this government. You are, are literally the tip 256 00:15:00.909 --> 00:15:06.690 of spear going out to Delaney in May of 2025. 257 00:15:05.809 --> 00:15:07.730 With two of your colleagues from Congress. 258 00:15:08.490 --> 00:15:12.169 And when you're there, you are able to see firsthand, 259 00:15:12.210 --> 00:15:14.049 and this is back in May, this is before they 260 00:15:14.090 --> 00:15:16.450 even got their big bullshit bill funding and even got 261 00:15:16.490 --> 00:15:18.789 even more money to be able to do this. Tell 262 00:15:18.830 --> 00:15:20.809 the people what you saw in the two and a 263 00:15:20.870 --> 00:15:24.000 half hours you were inside Delaney Hall even last year. 264 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:26.759 Yeah. I mean, once again, it's crazy to think that 265 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:30.620 was 2025, right? Literally, it was just a couple of 266 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:34.480 months after Trump was sworn into office. And Delaney Hall, 267 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:36.230 which Katie, a lot of people don't know, it was 268 00:15:36.259 --> 00:15:39.429 one of the first huge detention centers to open up 269 00:15:39.570 --> 00:15:45.009 underneath Trump 2.0. And when we went there, awful. Conditions 270 00:15:45.110 --> 00:15:48.970 were awful. No access to food. The place literally looked 271 00:15:48.990 --> 00:15:51.809 like an empty warehouse, even though it operated as a 272 00:15:52.289 --> 00:15:56.220 halfway house, they called them here in the city years ago. 273 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:00.570 But I mean, the phones were not working. At that point, 274 00:16:00.610 --> 00:16:02.690 we spoke to detainees who told us that they did 275 00:16:02.730 --> 00:16:05.019 not get access to medical care. They had been there 276 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:07.559 for a couple of weeks and literally had not had 277 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:11.549 their regular medication. I mean, people telling us, hey, I'm 278 00:16:11.590 --> 00:16:14.330 going to approve student visa. I'm going to approve a 279 00:16:14.409 --> 00:16:16.570 work permit. I don't know why I'm here. Like my 280 00:16:16.610 --> 00:16:20.389 paperwork is active. Literally no access to a lawyer, no 281 00:16:20.509 --> 00:16:23.120 access to court. This those were the things that we 282 00:16:23.149 --> 00:16:26.080 were hearing at the time in Delaney in May of 283 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:30.080 twenty twenty five. And since then, it has escalated even 284 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:34.340 more out of this facility from them having a riot there, 285 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:38.419 from detainees escaping because they were not being fed, to 286 00:16:38.590 --> 00:16:41.889 literally at this point, we're at three deaths there, Katie, 287 00:16:41.970 --> 00:16:45.149 folks who have died from not getting medical attention there. 288 00:16:45.169 --> 00:16:49.730 Two pregnant women miscarried at this location because they denied 289 00:16:49.789 --> 00:16:56.289 them access of OBGYN care. Multiple detainees reporting sexual assaults. 290 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:02.519 literally reporting abuses, retaliation, and once again, still moldy food, 291 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:05.220 still no access to medical care. These are things that 292 00:17:05.269 --> 00:17:08.289 we're still hearing to this day. And I look at 293 00:17:08.309 --> 00:17:10.750 all of the things that have happened since May 2025, 294 00:17:10.750 --> 00:17:14.829 and it makes me kind of angry at the same 295 00:17:14.910 --> 00:17:19.980 time because it's like, I warned everyone May 2025 that 296 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:22.880 this is what is happening at a place like Delaney. 297 00:17:22.940 --> 00:17:24.839 And even my other two colleagues who were with me 298 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:27.680 that day Literally, we've been saying since day one, before 299 00:17:27.700 --> 00:17:28.619 it became popular. 300 00:17:28.660 --> 00:17:31.599 Katie, that- That's what I'm saying. 301 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:34.119 They need to be abolished. These detention centers should not 302 00:17:34.140 --> 00:17:38.559 be open. Funding cruelty. And literally, I've said that for 303 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:40.829 over a year. And it's like, now that everyone gets 304 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:44.049 the opportunity to go to these places, see what's happening, 305 00:17:44.190 --> 00:17:47.690 other deaths happening across the country, them murdering people in 306 00:17:47.970 --> 00:17:50.650 broad daylight in the middle of the street, causing havoc 307 00:17:50.970 --> 00:17:54.289 and chaos on the American people. Now it's like, oh yeah, 308 00:17:54.309 --> 00:17:58.309 this is really- Yeah, it's been effed up. It's just 309 00:17:58.329 --> 00:18:00.569 that I had to be the first one along with 310 00:18:00.609 --> 00:18:03.589 my two colleagues that day to experience it. And now 311 00:18:03.769 --> 00:18:07.509 I'm paying the price for, you know, uncovering this cruelty. 312 00:18:07.549 --> 00:18:10.170 That's why they try. That's why they're trying to criminalize 313 00:18:10.309 --> 00:18:12.970 oversight and do this to me. Because they want to 314 00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:15.269 continue to operate in the dark. And that is why 315 00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:17.730 oversight is so important. And we try to explain this 316 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:19.940 to the American people. And even I try to explain 317 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:22.440 this to other members of Congress. This is what this 318 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:24.279 is our job. This is what we should be doing, 319 00:18:24.299 --> 00:18:27.440 because literally we get to uncover the cruelty that is 320 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:30.259 happening at these places. And that's why unannounced visits are 321 00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:33.460 so important to Katie, because you get to see these 322 00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:37.049 places in real time. They don't get to clean up 323 00:18:37.109 --> 00:18:39.569 and scrub up for you to come and give you 324 00:18:39.609 --> 00:18:41.750 a shiny visit. I want to see what detainees are 325 00:18:41.789 --> 00:18:44.099 going through each and every day. And that's why we 326 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:46.200 showed up to Delaney in the first place last May 327 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:48.359 to do that, to see what was happening to people 328 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:52.339 under our watch and underneath the American people's watch. And 329 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:55.259 the American people deserve to know what is happening and 330 00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:56.279 what they're paying for. Yeah. 331 00:18:57.339 --> 00:19:00.119 And what does it say that the Trump administration still 332 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:01.980 doesn't want members of Congress to go in trying to 333 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:04.759 throw up all these BS restrictions to access? 334 00:19:05.190 --> 00:19:06.250 And I want to underscore this. 335 00:19:06.730 --> 00:19:09.829 It is your job. It is your job as a 336 00:19:09.910 --> 00:19:14.329 member of Congress to conduct oversight. And oversight includes physically going. 337 00:19:14.369 --> 00:19:16.849 I mean, people think, well, you're supposed to just stay 338 00:19:16.890 --> 00:19:18.789 in D.C. You're supposed to stay in the Capitol and 339 00:19:18.809 --> 00:19:21.490 never go. You're going to go to where the issues 340 00:19:21.529 --> 00:19:23.930 are happening. It is your job to go and conduct oversight. 341 00:19:24.019 --> 00:19:26.339 If you didn't go, I'd be mad. I'd be mad 342 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:28.720 as somebody who's in your jurisdiction, a constituent saying, what 343 00:19:28.740 --> 00:19:30.200 the hell are you doing? Why are you not making 344 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:32.140 sure that things are going right by these people or 345 00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:33.900 they're doing their jobs the way you're supposed to do it? 346 00:19:34.299 --> 00:19:35.880 The numbers are appalling. 347 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:40.420 And the 500 days since Trump was inaugurated on January 20th, 2025, 348 00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:43.619 until early June, at least 52 people have died. Those 349 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:45.670 are just the numbers that we can actually get official, right? 350 00:19:46.250 --> 00:19:49.730 ICE has admitted that 52 people have died in ICE custody. 351 00:19:50.109 --> 00:19:53.829 And yet when you were back there in May of 2025, 352 00:19:53.829 --> 00:19:55.430 and by the way, footnote, and you don't even have 353 00:19:55.450 --> 00:19:59.180 to respond to this, if you were such a physical 354 00:19:59.339 --> 00:20:02.380 threat of harm to anybody, I don't know why they 355 00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:03.619 let you hang out there for two and a half 356 00:20:03.660 --> 00:20:05.160 hours inside that facility. 357 00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:07.920 Makes you kind of wonder. And took me on a 358 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:08.480 tour after that. 359 00:20:08.500 --> 00:20:09.579 Take you on a guided tour. 360 00:20:10.180 --> 00:20:12.960 If you're such a threat physically, people are in fear 361 00:20:13.099 --> 00:20:15.640 of their safety. Not sure why they let you hang 362 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:17.180 out there for an additional two and a half hours, 363 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:21.240 but we'll deal with that when time comes. But now 364 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:26.779 the New York Times yesterday with some more reporting about 365 00:20:28.339 --> 00:20:30.849 deporting people to third countries they don't even have any 366 00:20:30.869 --> 00:20:35.390 association to, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, but then saying That is 367 00:20:35.470 --> 00:20:39.460 psychological warfare, moving these detainees from place to place. One 368 00:20:39.500 --> 00:20:41.720 guy was moved in eight months to six different places. 369 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:45.240 Deportees reporting they're constantly moved, kept in detention centers where 370 00:20:45.259 --> 00:20:47.640 up to 50 people share a single toilet, held in 371 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:50.799 painfully cold room without beds called the freezer, tying up 372 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:54.779 pregnant women with their hands and ankles like cattle. And 373 00:20:54.859 --> 00:20:57.029 that is the stuff that you are trying to expose 374 00:20:57.049 --> 00:21:00.630 that this administration is doing now. And instead of changing 375 00:21:00.670 --> 00:21:03.329 their ways, they weaponize the Department of Justice and they 376 00:21:03.369 --> 00:21:05.390 go after you to prosecute you to do what? To 377 00:21:05.490 --> 00:21:08.250 shut you up, to silence you, and to make other 378 00:21:08.269 --> 00:21:10.309 peoples of Congress too scared to say anything. 379 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.920 Yeah, that's exactly it. And all of those reports, just 380 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:16.779 like the SOS letter that came out of Delaney Hall, 381 00:21:16.900 --> 00:21:21.180 these are all true accounts. Because I know, I've seen 382 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:25.980 them myself, and I've spoken to detainees personally about these things. 383 00:21:26.059 --> 00:21:29.230 And not to mention, Katie- The point that you mentioned 384 00:21:29.369 --> 00:21:31.170 about some of the things that folks reported in the 385 00:21:31.230 --> 00:21:32.230 New York Times yesterday. 386 00:21:32.539 --> 00:21:32.779 Yes. 387 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:36.180 There are so many people in Delaney itself who have 388 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:40.119 literally are so depressed and their backs are against the wall. 389 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.539 They've done nothing. They have no criminal record where they 390 00:21:42.579 --> 00:21:47.559 have signed volunteer deportation agreements with the government. 391 00:21:47.579 --> 00:21:48.160 They're desperate. 392 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:51.730 They're desperate or they're being duped into doing it. 393 00:21:51.859 --> 00:21:54.099 Desperate or duped is the way I look at it, right? 394 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:56.269 Or that they want to change their conditions to get 395 00:21:56.309 --> 00:21:58.190 out of there because who wants to be caged in 396 00:21:59.430 --> 00:22:03.069 detention when you've done nothing wrong and you can possibly 397 00:22:03.170 --> 00:22:05.430 die at these places and you're being mistreated every day. 398 00:22:05.710 --> 00:22:07.589 You're going to say, look, send me back to my 399 00:22:07.630 --> 00:22:10.559 country of origin, hopefully. Do you know that there's so 400 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:13.890 many people who are still waiting for I mean, they've 401 00:22:13.910 --> 00:22:17.119