WATCH: Blumenthal gives opening statement in forum on DHS use of force

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., opened a bicameral public forum Tuesday to address recent incidents of use of force by Department of Homeland Security agents.

Witnesses include Marimar Martinez, a Chicago resident who was shot by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents in October; Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident who was detained by immigration agents in January; and Martin Daniel Rascon, a San Bernardino, Calif., resident who was in a car that was shot by immigration agents.

Brett and Luke Ganger, brothers of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in January; the family’s attorney; and a former police officer and professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law also testified.

Federal immigration agents have been involved in more than a dozen shootings, some fatal, since President Donald Trump began his second term, sparking public outcry over use of force by officers deployed as part of his immigration crackdown.

Families of victims and residents of Minneapolis, where two fatal shootings occurred last month, have demanded more transparency and accountability from the government, which has tried to shut local and state law enforcement out of investigations into the deaths.

The issue became a driving factor behind the partial government shutdown this week. Democrats refused to agree to a government funding deal for a handful of agencies, including the DHS, without reforms to ICE and CBP, including requiring agents to wear body cameras, refrain from obscuring their faces and obtain judicial warrants for arrests. Lawmakers approved a short-term measure Tuesday that funds DHS only through Feb. 13, while debate continues over these proposals.

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