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Sparks flew during a Wednesday hearing of a House Judiciary subcommittee after a Democratic member questioned a witness who testified about border security – but also participated in the pro-Trump rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.
The hearing of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement featured the testimony of three witnesses who are anti-immigration advocates. One of them, Sheena Rodriguez, runs a fledgling anti-immigration organization in Texas.
Rodriguez also sent several tweets from Washington, D.C., before, during and after Jan. 6, discussing her presence at or around the Capitol.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., used his time in the hearing to question Rodriguez about her role in the insurrection, which left a rioter and several police officers dead, and has led to 1,000 prosecutions so far.
“You asked people to fight for Trump, and you took a picture of yourself near the Capitol,” Swallwel said to Rodriguez. “When you ask people to fight for Trump, and they ultimately fought for Trump, do you regret those words?”
Rodriguez responded by questioning what her presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 had to do with the subject-matter of the hearing, which was border policy and the plight of unaccompanied minors who cross the US border.
A USA TODAY review of of Rodriguez’s social media showed numerous posts placing her at or around the Capitol before, during and after the Jan. 6 insurrection. None of the posts showed she entered the Capitol building itself.
Following the exchange Wednesday, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, ripped into Swalwell, and things got personal quickly. Nehls apologized to Rodriguez for Swalwell’s questioning about her credibility, then referred to Swalwell’s “checkered past” and “alleged affairs.”
Swalwell interrupted, saying “No, no, no. You don’t get to say that s—.”
Swalwell’s Democratic colleagues also intervened on his behalf, asking that Nehls’ comments be taken down. Rep Tom McClintock (R – CA), who chairs the committee, called a recess of the meeting, then asked Nehl if he would like to withdraw his words.
“Yes,” Nehls responded.
Border policy:Trump-era restriction to expire in May. But new rules may be no easier on border crossers
What did congressional witness do on Jan. 6?
The tense exchange was sparked by Swalwell’s concerns about Rodriguez’s qualifications as a witness, given her presence at the Capitol protests on Jan. 6.
Rodriguez posted photos and videos from the Capitol protest on Jan. 6 on her Twitter account and on Instagram. In one selfie, she’s standing by Doug Mastriano, the Pennsylvania state senator who was questioned by the Jan. 6 commission (and refused to answer any questions).
On Jan. 7, Rodriguez quote-tweeted the FBI, which was asking witnesses to come forward.
“I will be submitting my information on what I witnessed first-hand,” Rodriguez wrote.
Asked during Wednesday’s hearing if she crossed any police barricades on Jan. 6, she replied, “Not that I’m aware of.”
Rodriguez runs the organization Alliance for a Safe Texas. Founded last year, the group’s mission is “to inform and educate our fellow Texans of the consequences of illegal immigration and the open border policies,” according to its website.
While many activists who favor stricter immigration enforcement rally around the idea that the border is “open,” almost 200,000 people were either apprehended or expelled at the Southwestern U.S. border last month, and more than 1 million people have been either apprehended or expelled since Jan. 1.
Jan. 6 suspects ID’d, but not arrested:After Jan. 6 riot, hundreds of identifiable people remain free
What was the subcommittee testimony supposed to cover?
Wednesday’s subcommittee hearing focused on unaccompanied children who are found crossing the border. Those children enter the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, and generally are later released to a relative or other sponsor in the U.S.
But conservatives have claimed this system puts those children at risk, and Wednesday’s subcommittee meeting witnesses argued that children would be better off sent back to their home countries.
Those witnesses also have taken hard-line stances on border issues, including echoing extremist rhetoric about immigration.
Alliance for a Safe Texas “regularly shares information from SPLC-designated anti-immigrant hate groups such as the Center for Immigration Studies, and bigoted conspiracy theorists,” according to America’s Voice, a left-leaning immigration advocacy group.
Rodriguez, who frequently refers to immigration as an “invasion,” has also promoted the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory on her Substack page. In August, she posted links to a short documentary entitled “Intentional Invasion,” which posits that the Biden administration is purposefully allowing immigrants into the country.
Rodriguez was joined by Jessica Vaughn, Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that bills itself as a “pro-immigrant, low-immigration” research group that seeks “fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted.” It has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
More:Vigilantes along US-Mexico border? Texas bills would shift border patrol to state hands
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