*

Richard Wilhelm is a Somerville resident. He is an artist and poet. He was one of the founders of the Ibbetson Street Press in Somerville, MA.

Richard Wilhelm

THE TESTIMONY NO REPUBLICANS COULD FACE

On the 3rd of February, a joint committee hearing,
chaired by Senator Blumenthal and Representative Garcia
met to hear testimony from witnesses shot
and/or abused by officers of ICE and Border Patrol.
Not one Republican was present when they called the roll.

Renee Good and Alex Pretti were only two among others
shot to death by their own government, their murders
financed by their own tax dollars.  And like others,
they were killed for no reason, so officers invented lies
about how officers felt threatened, how the victim
tried to run them down with her car, a lie they use multiple
times, as if they’ve been previously coached.  And because
Republicans share in the blame, no Republican came.

Some ICE agents told Renee to drive away,
others told her to stop.  Agent Jonathan Ross
made her stop—with three bullets to her head.
She was merely trying to drive away.  Her two brothers
told the committee of her kindness and largeness of heart.
Perhaps too embarrassed or burdened with shame,
no Republicans came.

Alex Pretti tried to help up a woman pushed to the ground
by the masked thugs our tax dollars pay.  Border Patrol grabbed him,
took him down, hit him a few times in the head, and then
while he was held to the ground, shot him ten times in the back.
And these agents took pride in their unspeakable crime.
And while anyone else would feel revulsion and shame,
Trump and Vance, Miller, and Noem spewed despicable lies.
It was to be a joint committee, but no Republicans came.

A 30-year-old Montessori teacher, Marimar Martinez,
was driving to her church to drop off a donation of clothing
when she spotted an SUV carrying federal immigration agents.
She shouted “la Migra” to warn her neighbors,
prompting the agents in the SUV to side-swipe her car.
An agent got out and fired five bullets into her,
two of which passed though limbs to hit other parts of her,
creating seven bullet holes in her body.
Yet, she was able to drive away and call 911.
Medics arrived, took her to a hospital; she was discharged
three hours later.  FBI agents then arrested her and charged her
with domestic terrorism.  The shooter was proud he put seven
holes in her with only five bullets.  Seven for five and no charges filed.
Indeed, after Martinez had been shot, Gregory Bovino, Border Patrol chief,
told Charles Exum, the shooter, that he did excellent work, and
there was much left to do, and he should postpone his retirement.
She was lucky to have survived, to only have been maimed,
though traumatized by Trump’s terrorists.  She told her story
with terror in her eyes.  And no Republicans came.

Aliya Rahman, a citizen, driving to an appointment with her doctor,
was stopped by ICE agents.  She told them she was autistic
and suffered a prior brain injury. She told them it takes time
for her to process auditory commands.  Yet the video shows
agents screaming at her before dragging her out of her car.
An agent pulled out his combat knife to cut the seat belt that still restrained her,
adding to her terror.  She hit the ground face first,
whereupon an agent leaned on her back causing severe pain.
That George Floyd was killed by police only four blocks away
ran through her mind at that moment.
She was taken to a federal building where detainees were held.
She was never told she was under arrest, was never charged with a crime.
Nor was she given a medical screening;
never given a phone call nor access to a lawyer. Shortly thereafter,
she began to lose the ability to speak and eventually blacked out.
She told the committee she woke up in a hospital and was told
she had had a concussion.  Congressman Garcia reminded the committee
that Congress has the right to intervene when Constitutional rights
are being violated.   Would it have to be done by Democrats alone,
because no Republican could bother to come?

Martin Daniel Rascon, a 23 -year-old fork-lift driver from San Bernadino,
who recently earned a certificate to be a dental assistant, was riding
in a truck with two family members when a group of masked men shot
at their truck multiple times.  The driver, Francisco Longoria, was accused
of assaulting officers with his truck, a suspiciously familiar charge,
which was dropped a month later.  But two weeks after the incident,
federal agents came to Mr. Rascon’s home at 4 AM, broke the locks on his door,
barged in, and pointed a gun at his then-pregnant girlfriend.
Mr. Rascon held back tears as he told the committee that he no longer
feels safe, even in his own home. Any American hearing this
would of course feel angry and ashamed.  Perhaps the absent Republicans
know their cowardice is largely to blame. Their cowardice and their moral rot
are the reasons no Republicans came.

To have your work considered for the Lyrical send it to:
dougholder@post.harvard.edu