Rep. Doris Matsui says ICE told her people have been held overnight at Sacramento facility

So Hi everyone. I’m back again. I was here on Friday. Today is what? Thursday? Yes, it’s Thursday, and I appreciate all of you being here. Now I’m back here with *** couple of folks that you all know who are really warriors with me and what’s going on here. They have been involved in issues of civil liberties and civil rights and immigrant rights for *** very long time. I have to say today we were once again denied entry. But I would say this. You know they did deny us entry after I stated who I was that I had *** constitutional mandate to inspect the facilities. That They did not have adequate answers as to why I should be detained other than I have to work with my congressional relations person, which is ridiculous because I have *** constitution right to come here at any time. So what happened here is that. Even though we were denied. We probably got more information than we ever had. And because After we went from one room to another to try to get More answers, *** supervisor, we went back again. And We asked questions. I ask questions about if we’re not, we’re denied entry. Answer *** few questions, right? Because how many people are being held here now? What type of facility is it since we can’t see it, how large is it? Are they denied um. Food or do they get food, water. And are they here overnight? Now we found some interesting things because We did find out, I asked, who is now, how many people are now here? They said 5, and I said how many people? We’re here overnight. And they said 2. And they just put him on *** plane to Seattle. This is not an overnight facility at all. You’re only supposed to be here at the most. 12 hours. And then the interesting question is, OK, if they are overnight. How did they sleep? We asked if there are beds. They said there are some accommodations, so as my colleagues and I said, that means that there’s no beds. And so we here really believe that. Yes. This is not *** place. And they were even saying that this is not *** detention facility, but in fact they are holding people here longer than they should. And so for all of us here. We know that this cannot keep going on, and I emphasize, as I did over and over again. This facility, the John Moss Federal Building, is not *** facility to hold anybody, to process people, yes, but not to hold. It is an office building. It is an office building. And also, as I stipulate over and over again. The Constitution that guides us, the Constitution. Constitution mandates that as *** member of Congress, I am entitled. Entitled to conduct. Federal oversight. Over any facilities. So right now, it was pretty clear to all of us. That they don’t want us to see the facility. And they would be sort of add more to this conversation here too because I believe that we got more information than we ever did. Even though we didn’t get entrance to see the facility itself, they had to answer some questions, and they felt, I know, very uneasy about it, but we got enough answers to where we know we’re on the right track, and as I said to them again, we will be back. And we’ll make sure that um we are more even more prepared than ever before because now we have *** real system of how we’re gonna go about this. So anyway, I really want to bring up *** couple of my uh compadres here. Who are really on the front lines also and so I wanna bring first of all Phil Serta um board of supervisors, Sacramento County who’s been *** stalwart for immigrant rights and civil rights and everything that’s important for all of us in Sacramento. Yes, Bill. Great. Thank you and good morning. First, I would like to start by thanking Congresswoman Doris Matsui for the invitation to join her here this morning to what we had hoped inspect, rightfully inspect the facilities in back of us to ensure that our common constituents, immigrants, important parts of our community fabric. are being treated fairly, that they’re receiving due process that they have, as *** congresswoman stated, the basics of human decency, meaning food, water, the ability to be at least reasonably comfortable. And let me say first and foremost here we are. At the Moss Federal Building, two football fields away from the state capitol, and this behind us has amounted to what is in some respects *** mini penitentiary, at least in my estimation. When you look at the surroundings, when you notice that the guards, the folks, the security people behind. The glass are not even weaponized with pistols. Their holsters are empty, meaning that they’re treating it like any other prison in the state of California. And it was really sobering, quite frankly, to at least see what we saw today. And again, I want to uplift and really highlight the fact that we have *** congresswoman who continually is doing the right thing here by again attempting to express her constitutional right. She has *** constitutional right to inspect these facilities. I have known the Matsui family for over 50 years. I’ve had the honor of serving alongside Congresswoman Doris Matsui for almost 15 years. This is part and parcel of who she is and what she cares about. And so we’re not going to let up. This is not the end. We will continue to try and learn as much as we possibly can. We will attempt to do what we can in the future. To make sure again that our constituents have what they deserve, and that is dignity, due process, the right to representation, and again thank you to Congresswoman Doris Matsui for the invitation to participate this morning. With that, you’ll oblige me, I would like to bring up our dear friend and also. Someone who is *** local champion time and time again for immigrant rights, someone who can speak very intimately about being *** farm worker, being an immigrant himself here in California, here in Sacramento, and someone who has taken *** very strong leadership role in our city council, Mayor Pro Tem Eric Guerra. Thank you very much. I appreciate everyone for being here. Thank you, Congresswoman Mattsui. I want to thank all of our volunteers and the attorney of the day program and also thank you Supervisor Phil Serna, you know, Eric Guerra again here, council member for the city of Sacramento. This day here is very disturbing, especially for *** building where I took my citizenship exam. This is an administrative building. And I remember coming here to go through the process as many people have tried to go through the process to do the right thing and then picked up by immigration agents and then being held here and treating it as *** prison as *** detention facility. There was *** very simple, two very simple questions that should have been answered today, and those questions should have been answered in the form of yes. Number one, can we inspect the facility? Taxpayers have the right for their elected representatives to oversee federally funded taxpayer funded buildings and facilities and to make sure that those tax dollars are being spent appropriately. The answer was no. The second very simple question. Are there beds if they’re staying overnight, are there beds? The answer should have been yes, and the answer was fumbled around until finally we’ve got some accommodations. That to me is an unanswer. That’s an answer of no. Two very simple questions that were not answered today, and that is disturbing because what we heard and what I heard about our constituents was that over 20 people were being held here over *** week ago. It doesn’t take. *** week to get authorization to open *** door. If the federal government takes over *** week to get authorization to open *** door, that tells me that there’s something wrong in the bureaucracy of this administration for oversight. And if they are taking longer, that means that they’re hiding something. And we heard today that they flew people out today, meaning that they’re also reducing the number because they know they did something wrong. They were holding more. they should have holding them overnight. It was *** simple question. Are they overnight? They’re not allowed to be overnight. And if they are overnight, do they have beds? They have no beds. This is the type of issue that we need answers. We want to address. We will continue to push it and to make sure that people have their constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment and the Fourth Amendment require that people have due process. People, in fact, Word people, it doesn’t say any other status or whatnot. That’s what the Constitution says. That’s what our Bill of Rights say. And why were all these put in place? Because we did not want in this country *** king to control over people’s individual freedoms and liberties. And yet this is what’s happening right now. This is the wrong direction and we need answers here, and I appreciate everyone bringing to Light again what is happening here with our tax dollars, that is something that is taking away people’s constitutional rights. Thank you, Congresswoman Mattsuy again for your leadership in moving this forward, and I do want to ask, you know, if we can have our representatives here from the Turney day program and Oral resist please speak about the issues. Congressman, did you want to make any other comments here. Thank you very much, Eric. I can feel your passion as we all feel here. We have some wonderful people we work with Norcal Resist and also the California Immigration Project, and the lawyers and advocates are so critical for getting us the information and having oversight, which is really critical to all of us as we move forward. I’m bringing up now, Nicole. Nicole here works for the uh she’s the executive director of the California uh Immigration project and she has been absolutely wonderful and I want her to kind of expand on what we were doing and what we couldn’t see or say, OK. Good morning. My name is Nicole Zenardi. Um, I appreciate the vote of confidence from the Congress. I’m actually not the executive director though. I’m the legal director of California Immigration Project. Um, CIP provides free immigration legal services in Sacramento and the Central Valley, including removal defense and rapid response assistance. Also coordinate the Fuel Network, which stands for Sacramento Family Unity Education and Legal Network, which is *** collaborative of over 80 local nonprofits, pro bono attorneys, school districts, local businesses, and other service providers funded by the city of Sacramento and dedicated to serving our city’s immigrants. Um, I’ll provide just some context on *** few of our programs that um we’re currently using to do our best to meet the needs given, um, what we’re seeing right now in terms of ICE enforcement, um, and then share some anecdotes that we’ve learned through this work. So in addition to providing full scope legal representation that is assisting someone in *** removal case from start to finish, um, CIP and fuel also provide *** variety of limited scope assistance, um, and this is really done to bridge the gap between the need that we see for representation in removal proceedings at the immigration court and the dire lack of capacity among pro bono attorneys and other immigration legal service providers, um, particularly here in Sacramento. So two of our limited scope service programs are the Rapid Response program and the Attorney of the Day program, both of which take place in this building. Our rapid response program is *** collaborative effort of fuel partners and volunteer attorneys. Um, the first step in this system is an emergency hotline, and verifying ICE activity. So our fuel partner NorcalR Resist manages the hotline, which individuals can call if they see or know of *** recent ICE arrest. NorcalR Resist volunteers then verify any ICE activity that they got. Call about and collect important initial information. And the second step in this rapid response system is emergency legal intervention. When our team receives information about an arrest in our community, we activate our group of volunteer attorneys to send someone here to the ICE processing center at the federal mosque building to provide emergency legal assistance, and this is in an effort to prevent detention or imminent deportation. The Attorney of the day program, which is led by our AOD coordinator at the California Immigration Project, also brings together fuel partners and volunteer attorneys, and the goal of this program is to provide limited day of assistance to individuals attending their preliminary removal proceedings here at the Sacramento Immigration court, also in the federal mosque building, and to assist these individuals who. Have an attorney, which is the vast majority of individuals going through this process. AOD volunteers provide consultations, assistance in advocating before the immigration judge, and help with filing certain forms uh with the court. Our attorneys of the day and court observer volunteers also play an integral role in documenting ICE enforcement that we’re seeing at the court and providing emergency intervention when necessary. Um, both of our rapid both our rapid response and Attorney of the day program started back during the first Trump administration and over the last several years we have worked to develop and strengthen both of these programs. With these services as well as other programs and projects in place, we thought that we were prepared for the changes that we all knew were coming in January of this year, but what we are seeing now is so much worse and frankly more horrendous than what most of us anticipated, and the need is relentless and overwhelming. Since January we have seen an exponential increase in the number of ICE arrests in the Sacramento community, and what is notably different about these arrests happening now is, first, the extreme frequency which they are happening and the aggressive intimidation tactics used during these arrests. And second, where these arrests are occurring. Not only are we seeing more arrests in and around homes, workplaces, and during vehicle stops, but people are being arrested at their ICE check-ins at their immigration. court hearings and inside of USCIS interviews. Particularly concerning is that and in blatant contradiction of the enforcement policy stated by the current administration is that ICE is targeting people who are actively abiding by their immigration obligations who are not safety or security threats. For example, most of the individuals we have seen arrested at the court in recent months have attended all of their hearings, have already submitted an asylum or other application, and have no criminal history. At the Immigration Corps and USCIS office, both in this building behind us, groups of up to 10 ICE agents will patrol the hall in plain clothes without identification and often with their faces covered. We have seen these agents be verbally and physically aggressive with individuals as that they arrest as well as volunteer observers. The surge in enforcement and infiltration into previously safe spaces and aggressive intimidation tactics by ICE has spread uncertainty, fear, and desperation among community members. It has *** chilling effect on people going to their mandatory immigration court hearings, as well as applying for immigration relief, going to school and work, and seeking medical assistance. Additionally, as the speakers before me alluded to, we recently learned that ICE is holding detained individuals at the Federal mosque building behind me overnight, sometimes for several nights. This is an abrupt and quite shocking departure from previous practice. Up until earlier this month, the first week in August, when ICE arrested someone in Sacramento and took them. The ICE office behind me for processing, the individual was released or transferred to another facility by the end of the day. This was because we were told the mosque building does not have the infrastructure to hold individuals overnight, and this has been the case for years. But now we are getting reports from detained individuals who we have spoken with, as well as guards in the building that groups of people are being held for multiple nights in the basement. The building is not set up to hold people for any length of time, and we have talked to folks who have slept on the floor and do not have access to air conditioning or adequate food. We have spoken to family members who have been bringing things like sleeping pads and clothes for folks who are held here for multiple days. And at the same time this is happening, we and our observers and volunteers have struggled in recent months with gaining access into the building, including the court and ICE office, as well as gaining access to the individuals being held there, and this inhibits our ability to gather information about ICE enforcement, the conditions inside, and prevents us from providing crucial legal immigration services and support. On that note, I would like to thank Congresswoman Mattsui for her dedication to all members of our community and for championing an effort to learn what is actually happening inside this building and to hold ICE accountable for its actions, as well as for listening to the insight and concerns of our partners who are doing the work on the ground. I also want to express gratitude for and uplift the voices of individuals and families who are directly affected by this nightmare of ICE enforcement and the service providers who assist and support them every single day. Their bravery and willingness to share their experiences and observation sheds light on the truth of ISIS’s actions and empowers us all to fight back against their intimidation, brutality, and disregard for morality and due process. Thank you. Thank you very much, Nicole and I also want to thank uh you know all the advocates that have been working so hard here, the activists, the community we’re Sacramento, we’re *** community that comes together and when we see people being treated as they are here and through some of the streets that we see, I say that’s not Sacramento, we stand up for our community. As mentioned before, Eric and Phil and I have wonderful memories of this John Moss federal building. My late husband started his congressional career in this office. This is the only federal office congressional office at that time until the new one was built. He moved there and I moved there, but this one had wonderful memories because it’s sacramento and then to see what’s happening to it. We cannot let that happen or what’s happening today we see across the country. Fear is not *** way at all. To get people to come together. And I look at this and I think that’s not how we operate at all. And cruelty is not *** strategy that works, not in Sacramento, not in California, and I would say that we will be watching, we’re organizing, we’re learning, and we will be back every single time we’re back we get more information. So watch for us. We’re gonna be here We’re not gonna go away. So this is the end of the press conference and we’ll be happy to have some asides here. Congresswoman Matsui, you said that you will be back. When do you plan to come back and what is your chief demand that you would like to continue to drive home and what are you hoping that continued visits to the mosque building will result in? We are negotiating *** time to come back, which I think is ridiculous that we have to do that, but we are negotiating. We have an email from them. The date may not be appropriate because I’ll have to be in session in Washington DC, but we are negotiating that. But what I want to make *** point here is that this building is an office building. It should be *** processing building. Yes, that’s always been the way it is. I should not be here in, you know, patrolling the hallways. In *** way, what’s happening here is spreading intimidation and the fear that is so unlike how we live in this country and so we want to take *** step here to make sure that this federal building is not used as *** detention facility or *** prison-like facility. Our constituents deserve far more. We’re very close to them. This community stands up. It stands up and we intend to make sure that this does not get worse here and we’re starting here and we’ll continue to do this. And do you have counterparts in Congress who are doing the exact same thing at federal buildings across the country. I know you know what happened in Southern California. I know you had our wonderful senator here. And that was extreme, I must say, um, and so we are looking at what happened there. This is Sacramento. We don’t have *** detention facility. We don’t have big facilities in Sacramento. The next one I believe is in Stockton, but we love Sacramento and we’re not going to let these things happen, so we are taking those steps because the community is outraged. I don’t know about you all, but I have been going around the community, even to grocery stores, every, you know, what I normally do, talking to people in neighborhoods and come up to people come up to me and say. It’s an outrage what’s happening and thank you all for standing up for us in Sacramento because our neighbors should not be treated that way so we stand up Sacramento and we are.