Durbin Presses Witnesses On Diversion Of Critical Federal Resources To Support President Trump’s Cruel Mass Deportation Scheme

Durbin Presses Witnesses On Diversion Of Critical Federal Resources To Support President Trump's Cruel Mass Deportation Scheme

In today's Senate Judiciary hearing, Durbin denounced diverting federal resources from agencies like DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, and the military to continue the President's cruel attack on immigrants

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned witnesses in today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on reducing crime and making communities safer for all Americans. Rather than holding a hearing on the harms of military deployment to cities as Durbin requested, today's hearing was politically framed to blame "blue cities" for Republicans' refusals to support effective solutions to gun violence and glamorize the Trump Administration's illegal and unconstitutional deployment of the military to American cities. In his questioning, Durbin pressed witnesses about the impact of diverting critical resources at federal agencies to support the President's cruel mass deportation scheme.

Durbin began his questioning by asking Gregg Pemberton, Chairman of the D.C. Police Union, about his experience as a police officer during the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection.

"Did you get to talk to any of your officers that were either here [in the Capitol] or see any videos where your officers were assaulted?" Durbin asked Mr. Pemberton. "Do you characterize that experience as a peaceful protest?"

Mr. Pemberton affirmed that he had seen the violent videos, and he stated that there was "a riot" at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

"What was your reaction when President Donald Trump gave a full and unconditional pardon to 1,500 individuals who had been prosecuted for violence against police officers?" Durbin followed up.

Mr. Pemberton deflected by downplaying the violence of the insurrection, led by President Trump in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. When pressed further, Mr. Pemberton said he is more frustrated when people who assault police officers are not charged than when violent insurrectionists spend time in jail and are released. Mr. Pemberton said that he is irritated by the purported lack of public support for police officers that were or are assaulted on their job unless they were at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Denouncing assaults against any police officer, Durbin continued: "I'm certainly not in that category [of only caring about police officers in the Capitol on January 6, 2021], and I don't think most people are. Let me tell you something else. I spent a better part of my life in the U.S. Capitol building… It is a cathedral to democracy and should be respected. The people who broke down the windows, came in, and beat up on your police officers are despicable. To give them a full and unconditional pardon, to me, and call them 'peaceful' protestors is not conducive to saying that you're sympathetic to the police and their mission."

Durbin then asked Gregory Jackson Jr., gun violence survivor and former Deputy Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, about his work coordinating efforts between state, local, and federal governments to address gun violence.

"What was your experience in the previous Administration?" Durbin asked.

Mr. Jackson emphasized that the Biden Administration prioritized coordination between all levels of government, particularly in curbing the flow of gun trafficking. He explained that there was significant investment in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to provide the agency with resources to stop crime before it happens, to solve open cases, and to prevent guns from entering communities.

Mr. Jackson underscored that gun violence is prevalent in "blue cities in red states" because there are fewer state laws that regulate firearms, allowing guns to freely flow into these cities.

"What has happened to the funding of ATF under this Administration?" Durbin asked Mr. Jackson.

"It's been slashed," said Mr. Jackson.

"In Chicago, we have a problem with guns coming in from neighboring states, which don't do background checks. Was that a problem you ran into?" Durbin followed up.

Mr. Jackson explained that guns are flowing into Chicago by way of Missouri and Indiana, both states with lax gun control laws.

Video of Durbin's questions for Panel I in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions for Panel I in Committee is available here.

Footage of Durbin's questions for Panel I in Committee is available here for TV Stations.

Durbin then questioned Christopher Goumenis, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Peter Marketos, Acting Associate Director for Investigations at the U.S. Marshals Service, about how the Trump Administration has diverted federal resources from crime prevention programs in order to bulk up cruel immigration enforcement missions.

"How many U.S. Marshals personnel and DEA personnel have been assigned additional immigration enforcement work or [been reassigned] entirely to immigration enforcement since the start of this year?" Durbin asked both Mr. Goumenis and Mr. Marketos.

Mr. Marketos replied that the U.S. Marshals Service has roughly 4,000 operational employees, more than 200 of whom have been supporting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as it carries out President Trump's cruel mass deportation scheme.

Roughly 10 percent of the Washington Division of DEA has been reallocated to support DHS as well.

"Has this had any impact on the question of drug prosecutions in this last year?" Durbin continued.

Mr. Goumenis denied that the diversion of personnel has had any impact on DEA's operations.

Durbin countered his claim, citing a Reuters article.

"Reuters, September 29, 2025. 'The number of people charged with breaking federal drug laws dropped to the lowest [level] in decades this year after the Trump Administration ordered enforcement agencies to focus on deporting immigrants, a Reuters review of nearly 2 million federal court records found,'" Durbin quoted the article. "'So far this year, about 10 percent fewer people have been prosecuted for drug violations compared to the same period of 2024, court records show, a drop of about 1,200 cases and the slowest rate since at least the late 1990s.'"

"So there is a natural concern that this so-called 'big and beautiful' mass deportation is diverting resources that could be used for stopping drug trafficking and crimes," Durbin said. "We're paying a price for the 'great, beautiful' mass deportation, despite the fact that 70 percent of the people who have been stopped by DHS and accused of immigration violations have no criminal record."

"Would you like to comment on that?" Durbin asked.

Mr. Goumenis deferred responsibility to U.S. attorneys, insisting that many of their cases go primarily to state and local courts rather than federal court.

Video of Durbin's questions for Panel II in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions for Panel II in Committee is available here.

Footage of Durbin's questions for Panel II in Committee is available here for TV Stations.

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