{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pingree.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=6862", "Pingree Hears Emotional Testimony from Families, Representatives of Slain ICE Victims", "2026-09-22", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "ME", "Chellie Pingree", "P000597", "pingree.house.gov", "pingree", "https://pingree.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) joined U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a bicameral public forum of fatal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shootings across the country. Members heard emotional testimony on the killings of Ruben Ray Martinez and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas, Ren\u00e9e Nicole Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, and Johan Sebasti\u00e1n Dur\u00e1n Guerrero in Maine.\n\nWatch Pingree\u2019s portion of questioning here; the full hearing is available to watch here.\n\nClick here for photos from the hearing.\n\n\u201cListening to these families today was heartbreaking and infuriating,\u201d said Pingree. \u201cRuben Ray Martinez was killed by an ICE agent, and DHS refused to even admit it happened for nearly a year, until a public records request forced the truth out. Alex Pretti was shot in the back, and it took a bystander's video to prove the government's own account of his death was a lie. Johan Sebasti\u00e1n Dur\u00e1n Guerrero's family still has no confirmation that any federal agency is investigating his death, months later. How can the government take someone\u2019s life and leave their family without a clear account of what happened or why? These families deserve answers. Congress has a duty to demand a full accounting and hold federal officials accountable for the abuses committed using taxpayer dollars. Republicans should be demanding those answers alongside us, but they have been derelict in their duties\u2014refusing to hold hearings like this one. Democrats and I will keep fighting for the truth and for justice.\u201d\n\nOther Members participating in the hearing included Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Reps. Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), and Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.).\n\nThe following witnesses offered testimony about the fatal shootings of five people by federal immigration agents during the Trump Administration:\n\nRachel Reyes: Rachel Reyes\u2019 son, Ruben Ray Martinez, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in March 2025 in South Padre Island, Texas. For nearly a year afterwards, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to publicly acknowledge its involvement in Mr. Martinez\u2019s death, which only came to light through a public records request.\n\nDonna and Brent Ganger: Donna Ganger\u2019s daughter and Brent Ganger\u2019s sister, Ren\u00e9e Nicole Macklin Good, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in January 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.\n\nStella Carlson: Stella Carlson recorded the killing of Alex Pretti in January 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Carlson, known as the \u201cwoman in the pink coat,\u201d was on her way to work when she witnessed and filmed an immigration agent shooting Mr. Pretti in the back. Her video confirmed that DHS\u2019s account of the fatal shooting was false.\n\nRonaldo and Lorenzo Salgado: Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado\u2019s father, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was shot and killed in Houston, Texas in July 2026. Mr. Araujo was driving to work when he was confronted by ICE agents who fired into the vehicle, killing him.\n\nSean P. Murphy: Sean P. Murphy represents the family of Johan Sebasti\u00e1n Dur\u00e1n Guerrero who was shot and killed by an ICE agent shortly after leaving for work early in the morning hours of July 13, 2026. He was not the target of any ICE removal operation and had no criminal history. Johan Sebasti\u00e1n did have a social security number and valid work authorization issued by the current administration. To date, no federal agency has confirmed that they are investigating.\n\n\"The loss of Johan Sebasti\u00e1n is a tragedy. In the past two months, Ben [Gideon] and I have been fighting for him. We will continue to fight for him. We will continue to fight for justice and accountability And while I desperately want to keep this focused on the tragedy of losing even one life to the world, I would be remiss if I did not address the political elephant in the room, that on the other side of Johan\u2019s life lost is the nefarious decision by this administration to steal and take that life,\u201d Murphy said in his testimony. \u201c[\u2026] The only justification given for Johan\u2019s death was that it was in the interest of public safety. You know what actually keeps the public safe? Not shooting innocent and law-abiding fathers whose only dream is to build a better life for his family.\u201d\n\nWatch Murphy\u2019s full testimony here.\n\nIn August, Pingree, Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, hosted a Democratic shadow hearingexamining ICE\u2019s use of force and abuse of power following the tragic killing of Johan Sebasti\u00e1n Dur\u00e1n Guerrero in Biddeford.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-24T09:44:48Z", "2026-09-24T09:45:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://pingree.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=6862"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 15.263912733644247, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}