Committee member cites cases of children harmed by DHS and ICE actions

A committee member opened an oversight hearing by saying children have felt "some of the worst impacts" of Department of Homeland Security enforcement under the Trump administration and described specific incidents in Minnesota, California and Texas.

The committee member cited an episode in Minneapolis in which agents allegedly deployed tear gas and stun grenades around a family with six children, saying two of the children have severe asthma and the youngest is 6 months old. The speaker said the family's exposure raised immediate public-safety and health concerns.

The lawmaker also described an incident in Fremont, California, saying a 6-year-old student at the California School for the Deaf was arrested along with his mother and 5-year-old brother during a routine Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in; the committee member said the child was prevented from retrieving his hearing aids and was deported to Colombia, cutting him off from specialized education the speaker said the child requires.

The committee member said a DACA recipient father in Texas was arrested while on the way to deliver milk to his baby, who was 12 days old and a U.S. citizen. Quoting a man the member said was speaking from a detention center, the committee member relayed, "I never even got to hold her."

The speaker characterized these examples as part of a pattern by the administration and "our own government" that lacks "humanity or respect for children," and urged colleagues and witnesses to speak up. The committee member thanked witnesses for their courage and testimony and then yielded to a senator.

No formal motions or votes are recorded in the available remarks. The record provided consists of opening remarks and examples presented by the committee member; the transcript does not include responses from DHS, ICE, or other officials in this excerpt.