Representative Crockett presses DHS on treatment of migrant children, alleges constitutional violations

Representative Crockett used allotted time to sharply criticize federal immigration enforcement and to question whether the Department of Homeland Security is applying its written safeguards in practice.

"It is so hard to sit in allegedly power positions yet see this happening in my country every single day," Crockett said, accusing federal officials of "abdicate[ing] their oaths and their duties" and of "decid[ing] that instead of following the law or the Constitution, they want to follow a single man." She said the First, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments "have all been thrown out of the window by this administration."

Crockett cited several specific claims as examples of the harm she said enforcement practices cause. She referred to widely circulated images of a 5-year-old, "Liam Ramos," and said she had visited him at the Dilley facility, adding that "there are so many children that are rotting away in that facility." She also named journalists she said had been arrested, saying "a journalist by the name of Don Lemon can be arrested or Georgia Fort can be arrested."

Crockett invoked a judge's decision in the Ramos case, summarizing language that the judge said the case "has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently, even if it requires traumatizing children." She argued that the judiciary remained the only branch still performing its duties and urged steps to empower people harmed by enforcement practices.

Turning to a named official, Crockett addressed "Mr. Stout," asking whether the Department of Homeland Security's written internal use-of-force policies, which she said are "supposed to be guided by constitutional protections under the Fourth Amendment," are being implemented in practice. "The policies on paper are fairly good. I do not see those being translated into practice," she said, and asked, "Do you think that we're seeing that?"

Crockett also suggested changing liability protections for officers so victims could more readily seek compensation, referencing a claim that "if our president can sue our own federal government for $10,000,000,000, then something tells me that maybe we need to loosen the reins around some of the protections that these officers have so that y'all can go and get something." She concluded by saying lawyers should be able to get money to pursue justice and yielded the floor.

Crockett's remarks consisted of allegations and characterizations of federal practice; the hearing transcript records her statements and a question directed at "Mr. Stout," but does not include a response from that individual in the provided excerpt. Several factual claims Crockett made (for example, about arrests and suit amounts) were presented as assertions during her remarks and were not substantiated elsewhere in the transcript excerpt.