Menendez and Espaillat Lead Congressional Hispanic Caucus Roundtable on Deaths Caused by Trump Administration’s Extreme Anti-Immigrant Agenda

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, Congressional Hispanic Caucus ("CHC") Vice Chair of Policy Congressman Rob Menendez (NJ-08) and CHC Chair Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) led a CHC Policy Roundtable with Members of Congress and immigration experts and advocates on the rise in fatal incidents involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"). The roundtable follows the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") immigration enforcement officers, as well as the death of Jean Wilson Brutus following his detention at the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

"Renee Good, Alex Pretti, Jean Wilson Brutus, and many others should still be with us today, but their lives were cut short because of the Trump Administration's extreme and violent tactics," said Congressman Menendez. "President Trump, Secretary Noem, and those they have tasked with executing their anti-immigrant agenda against our communities should know that the refusal of House Republicans to provide any oversight will not prevent them from being held accountable for their actions. The work we are doing with the policy experts and advocates present at our roundtable will inform our efforts to stop these abuses and ensure accountability."

"The Trump administration made a conscious decision to attack civil liberties through paramilitary immigration enforcement. As a Congress, we must first recover the oversight powers our Republican colleagues have recklessly abandoned, then dismantle the excessive system and right-size immigration enforcement in accordance with our Constitution, our laws, and our values," said Congressman Espaillat. "The next step -- and our permanent vocation from this moment on -- will be to deliver accountability for all the excesses and abuses inflicted upon the people under Trump."

Rep. Menendez and roundtable attendees spoke about DHS' violent and aggressive tactics that have led to at least eight deaths involving ICE detention or DHS enforcement encounters and in 2025, 32 people died in ICE's custody, creating urgent questions about enforcement tactics, detention conditions, and oversight deficiencies.

The following policy experts and advocates participated in the roundtable:

• Naureen Shah, Director of Government Affairs, Equality Division, American Civil Liberties Union
• Setareh Ghandehari, Advocacy Director, Detention Watch Network
• Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Senior Fellow, American Immigration Council
• Sirine Shebaya, Executive Director, National Immigration Project

Since coming to Congress, Rep. Rob Menendez has been a leader on fighting for immigrant rights. Menendez is an original cosponsor of articles of impeachment for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, has called for the end of ICE, and led efforts to demand that ICE agents identify themselves when conducting enforcement operations. Earlier this year, Menendez was on the ground in Minnesota for a field hearing, listening to the testimony of victims of ICE and DHS's abuses and state and local elected officials. Last year, Reps. Menendez, Watson Coleman, and McIver were conducting legal oversight at the Delaney Hall detention facility when they were confronted by over 20-armed ICE and HSI agents in an incident that gained national attention.

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