Witnesses at congressional hearing urge changes, say sanctuary policies contributed to fatal crimes

Witnesses from multiple families described how crashes and violent deaths involving people in the country without authorization left their children dead or permanently injured and asked Congress to consider policy changes.

An unidentified lawmaker opened the session by saying Democratic policies had allowed "10,000,000 illegal migrants" into the country and criticized sanctuary jurisdictions and reduced funding for immigration enforcement. Families detailed the personal consequences: Miss Fox described her daughter Carissa as "minimally conscious, nonverbal, is wheelchair bound and eats through a feeding tube," and Jennifer Heiling said her son Brady and his girlfriend Hallie were killed by an intoxicated, unlicensed driver.

Antonio Romanucci, a civil-rights attorney representing victims, urged Congress to address accountability for harms by federal officers and to consider statutory updates to restore access to jury trials and remedies against federal agents. Representative Hank Johnson acknowledged the families' pain but said the hearing risked fueling prejudice and suggested alternative legislative remedies, including a Bivens-type fix and the Constitutional Accountability Act.

The hearing included pointed exchanges between members over whether the forum advanced policy or inflamed partisan rhetoric; staff reminded witnesses of five-minute time limits and said written testimony would be entered into the record. Committee leaders did not announce votes or immediate policy actions by the close of the excerpted proceedings.