{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/senator-blumenthal-week-in-review-9/18/2026-9/25/2026", "Senator Blumenthal: Week in Review 9/18/2026-9/25/2026", "2026-09-25", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Richard Blumenthal", "B001277", "www.blumenthal.senate.gov", "blumenthal", "https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press", "scraper", "Receiving Testimony on Fatal Shootings by Federal Immigration Agents\n\n[WASHINGTON, D.C.] \u2013 U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, held a bicameral public forum on the killings of Ruben Ray Martinez, Ren\u00e9e Nicole Macklin Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and Johan Sebasti\u00e1n Dur\u00e1n Guerrero.\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 Immigration & Customs Enforcement (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\n\u201cThough the circumstances surrounding his death and these other victims are distinctly different, the pattern is the same. Lives cut short by the same agency; agents without body cameras; no warnings; no attempt to de-escalate; excessive force followed by deflection, and a lack of accountability after the fact,\u201d Ms. Reyes wrote. \u201cOther similarities are that these victims, despite being nonviolent community members with no criminal background, were disparaged and blamed to shift focus away from the officer\u2019s misconduct. What happened to my son is personal, but it should be a concern for us all.\u201d\n\nMs. Reyes\u2019 written testimony is available here.\n\nVideo of Ms. Reyes\u2019 testimony is available here.\n\nBlumenthal further highlighted Ms. Reyes\u2019 testimony on Twitter/X.\n\n\u201cRachel Reyes tells Ruben Ray Martinez's story, her son who was shot & killed by an ICE agent. She shares her pain & grief of losing a child\u2014something no parent should have to endure,\u201d wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.\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\n\u201cWhat I want most to do today is help everyone understand exactly what was taken from us on January 7th, and what a beautiful woman our family and this country lost. We have not moved on. We struggle every day. We will never, ever be the same,\u201d Mrs. Ganger wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to balance our gratitude for what a lovely soul Renee was with the anger and confusion at the violent way she died. And the total insanity of it all. She should still be alive. I\u2019ll say that again. My daughter should still be alive.\u201d\n\n\u201cI urge each of you to find a common sense solution to the problem of accountability for federal officers. There should not be a different set of rules and a different process to hold a federal officer accountable versus a state or local officer. We all want our law enforcement officers to perform at the highest standards, but when they don\u2019t, it shouldn\u2019t matter who their employer is. There should be a path to justice for those they harm,\u201d Mr. Ganger wrote. \u201cOur family implores all members of Congress to work together to level the playing field and find common sense reform that provides accountability and justice for all.\u201d\n\nMrs. Ganger and Mr. Ganger\u2019s written testimony is available here.\n\nVideo of Mrs. Ganger and Mr. Ganger\u2019s testimony is available here.\n\nBlumenthal further highlighted Mrs. Ganger and Mr. Ganger\u2019s testimony on Twitter/X.\n\n\u201cDonna & Brent Ganger remember Renee Good, their daughter & sister who was shot & killed by an ICE agent in January. They honor her legacy by calling for accountability & an end to ICE's violent & unconstitutional actions,\u201d wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.\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\n\u201cI am just a regular person, but I care deeply about my community, and my state, and my country. And I believe there is power in ordinary people telling the truth,\u201d Ms. Carlson wrote. \u201cBecause I feel like I witnessed two assassinations. The first was the assassination of Alex himself \u2014 the killing I watched happen in the streets of Minneapolis. The second was the attempted assassination of his character. Afterward, powerful voices at the highest levels of government right here in Washington DC lied about Alex Pretti. They tried to take the gentle person I had watched with my own eyes and replace him with lies claiming he was a violent threat, someone who had come there to cause maximum damage, someone who wanted to kill law enforcement. Not so. Those were all lies. I observed him and what happened with my own eyes. The truth does not become less true because someone with great power tells a louder lie.\u201d\n\nMs. Carlson\u2019s written testimony is available here.\n\nVideo of Ms. Carlson\u2019s testimony is available here.\n\nBlumenthal further highlighted Ms. Carlson\u2019s testimony on Twitter/X.\n\n\u201cStella Carlson is part of a community mourning the loss of Alex Pretti. Carlson witnessed & filmed an immigration agent shooting Pretti in the back\u2014her video confirming that DHS\u2019s account of the fatal shooting was false,\u201d wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.\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\n\u201cI visit my dad\u2019s memorial every day. Not because it\u2019s where he died, but where a movement was born. It\u2019s my way of witnessing how many hearts my dad\u2019s story resonates with,\u201d Mr. Ronaldo Salgado wrote. \u201cAnd it\u2019s my motivation to continue fighting not just for my dad, but for everyone else\u2019s dad and families like mine. I hope I\u2019m doing the right thing every day. I know my dad is guiding me in the right direction.\u201d\n\n\u201cI ask you this: What would you do if you were in our shoes? Think of a loved one,\u201d Mr. Lorenzo Salgado wrote. \u201cClose your eyes and picture their face. What would you do if they were taken from you this way? Suddenly, without any sense. What would you do if you had to spend your days comforting your mother about the loss of her lifelong love, your grandmother about the loss of her little boy? You would do everything you could to find out what happened and make sure your loved one got justice.\u201d\n\nMr. Ronaldo Salgado and Mr. Lorenzo Salgado\u2019s written testimony is available here.\n\nVideo of Mr. Ronaldo Salgado and Mr. Lorenzo Salgado\u2019s testimony is available here.\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\u201cI will say this next part quietly but with the hope and belief that just the grieving of Johan Sebati\u00e1n\u2019s mother permeated the walls of the funeral home, this next declaration permeates the walls of this building and reaches if not the ears, the soul of any public servant who has a soul left to receive it: Anyone who would defend the murder of Johan Sebasti\u00e1n is not a true patriot,\u201d Mr. Murphy wrote.\n\nMr. Murphy\u2019s written testimony is available here.\n\nVideo of Mr. Murphy\u2019s testimony is available here.\n\nBlumenthal delivered a opening statement at the forum, pushing for accountability and reform for the Trump Administration\u2019s brutal immigration enforcement tactics.\n\n\u201cThe fact is, we are all Minneapolis, we are all Texas, we are all Chicago, we are all Biddeford, we are all Danbury. We need a better America if it's reflected in what ICE does. So, after this continued violence, every community in America should be asking itself: How long will it be until ICE is in our city with the same kind of mass arrests and tactics and sweeps and violence and brutality? How long will it be until we have another grieving family? Until another loss of life is felt?\u201d said Blumenthal at the forum.\n\n\u201cToday, we bear witness to the cost of this inhumanity. Today's forum gives these witnesses, as the voice and face of this challenge, the accountability that must begin in this country. We are going to continue to demand not just answers and accountability, but actual change, real change, real action, from this Administration. And on behalf of all of us, I again would just like to offer these witnesses here, their families and their communities, our heartfelt condolences, our thanks, and our admiration for your courage and strength,\u201d continued Blumenthal.\n\nA video of Blumental\u2019s opening remarks can be found here.\n\nBlumenthal further highlighted the need for justice and accountability in the ongoing wake of ICE\u2019s brutality on Twitter/X.\n\n\u201cCongress must hold ICE accountable. Totally unacceptable that there has been no real investigation into DHS/ICE related deaths & injuries,\u201d wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.\n\n\u201cLawbreaking that takes lives. Renee Good\u2019s brother highlights how ICE faces no deterrence, no penalty for withholding evidence as its agents kill people,\u201d wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.\n\nBlumenthal joined MS NOW to highlight his forum and the powerful testimonies of the witnesses.\n\n\u201cThe grief, courage, & well-justified anger from witnesses at my spotlight forums on ICE's brutality make one thing clear\u2014we need investigations & reforms to hold this Administration & its federal agents accountable. I joined MS NOW to discuss,\u201d wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.\n\nThe full interview can be found here.\n\nA recording of the full forum can be found here.\n\nSupporting Ukrainians in Face of Russia\u2019s Aggression\n\nBlumenthal met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, highlighting the need for continued U.S. support for Ukraine\u2019s fight against Putin\u2019s murderous invasion.\n\n\u201cInspiring meeting with Pres. Zelenskyy in NY on the eve of U.N. Gen. Assembly sessions\u2014& his meeting with Trump. He\u2019s grateful for the new Russia Sanctions measure & hopeful for air defense & Starlink progress. We must implement the sanctions law promptly & aggressively\u2014throttling Putin\u2019s war machine by cutting revenue from Russia\u2019s sale of oil & gas. China & India are the preeminent purchasers. Facing brutally cruel bombing & long cold winter, Ukraine needs Starlink to pinpoint & destroy Russian missiles before they\u2019re launched, but also Patriot interceptors available in arsenals of U.S. & others like Saudi Arabia. Even with little sleep & heavy burdens, he\u2019s upbeat & strong\u2014buoyantly resolute\u2014reflecting the courage & unshakable resolve of the magnificent Ukrainians,\u201d wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.\n\nBlumenthal along with U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced legislation to protect Ukrainian nationals who have sought refuge in the United States following Russia\u2019s unprovoked war of aggression in their home country.\n\nThe bipartisan bill would extend immigration protections for Ukrainians who have fled the war brought on by the Russian invasion and sought safety in the United States through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which has for decades provided refuge to those living in America who have fled natural disasters, violence, and political insecurity. The current TPS designation for Ukraine will expire on October 19, 2026 unless further action is taken.\n\n\u201cUkrainians seeking safety here are fleeing unimaginable horror at home \u2013 bloody missile and drone strikes, ruthless kidnapping of children, a cold winter without heat. Forcing their return to such cruel conditions would be the height of inhumanity,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cI am grateful to Senators Murkowski, Coons, and Cassidy for joining me in introducing legislation that will protect Ukrainians seeking refuge from being sent back to certain brutality and bloodshed.\u201d\n\nTPS is a temporary, legal immigration status granted to foreign citizens who are unable to return safely to their home country due to natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary conditions. All TPS recipients have passed a thorough background check. TPS was extended to Ukrainian nationals in April 2022 due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.\n\nIn February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching missiles against military and civilian targets across the country as troops pushed to overtake major cities. Although Ukrainian forces successfully blocked the attempted invasion of Kyiv and have since liberated significant territory throughout the country, Russian offensives continue to target Ukrainian communities and claim thousands of casualties. Since the invasion, tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have died and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian forces have been killed. Russia has also engaged in a campaign of abduction and forcible removal of Ukrainian children, seeking to erase the children\u2019s Ukrainian names, language and identity, and exposing them to human trafficking and exploitation, child labor, sexual violence, hunger, injury, trauma and death.\n\nOn the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee\n\nBlumenthal, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee, released a statement on a new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) exposing the Trump Administration and DOGE\u2019s reckless cancellation of contracts at VA beginning in 2025. The report details a chaotic cancellation process directed top-down by DOGE, Secretary Doug Collins, and Senior Advisors at VA, resulting in contracts called without veteran-impact assessments and inaccurate cost saving estimates.\n\n\u201cThis report confirms my repeatedly expressed concerns that VA has recklessly cancelled hundreds of contracts with no consideration of the impact on veterans or VA operations. These cuts harmed veterans and were hidden from Congress and the public by senior VA officials. Secretary Collins owes us answers on how VA will replace lost services and how much this fiasco has cost taxpayers in arbitration, settlements, and reinstatements. Veterans and taxpayers deserve transparency and a full public accounting.\u201d\n\nKey findings of the report reveal:\n\nA top-down process led by DOGE, Doug Collins and political leaders, rather than a process driven by VA subject matter experts.\n\nOIG reports that only after contracts were marked for cancellation did VA leadership ask officials to justify their proposed cuts. In addition, questions about the cancellations\u2019 impact on veterans were not asked until the contracts were identified for termination.\n\nA haphazard process and timeline: \u201cIn some cases, VA officials were given two weeks to complete their review. In others, they were given only a few hours to review hundreds of contracts. VA senior advisers and Department of Government Efficiency representatives directed them to terminate the contracts on February 25, 2025, regardless of the incomplete reviews.\u201d\n\nDue to the reckless cancellation process, VA subsequently reversed some contracts that were already cancelled: \u201cFor example, OIG also found that contracting officers initially terminated an additional 100 contract actions but later reinstated them.\u201d\n\nDOGE and VA advisors\u2019 lack of familiarity with contracting processes and terminology led to \u201cconfusion, frustration,\u201d and made tracking cancelled contracts difficult.\n\nVA repeatedly submitted inaccurate data to Congress and touted false information to the public. For example, in May 2025 DOGE and Doug Collins reported saving $120.9 billion through contract cancellations. However, this report reveals the true savings were not even one percent of that amount.\n\nThe report does not include data independently obtained from VA that reveals an additional 32 contracts were reinstated \u201cdue to direct patient care.\u201d Additionally, OIG did not review an additional 103 contracts that were descoped and 842 not renewed due to DOGE during the same time period.\n\nSince 2025, Blumenthal and Congressional Democrats have sent multiple requests to VA Secretary Doug Collins asking for the complete and updated list of VA contracts cancelled or proposed for cancellation. This report shows that VA failed multiple times to submit accurate data and are still in the process of correcting mistakes their process created.\n\nIn January 2026, Blumenthal and the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee released a report detailing the Trump Administration\u2019s lack of transparency and false savings claims arounds its cancellation of thousands of contracts providing services to veterans and supporting VA operations. This report detailed how Trump Administration officials employed a flawed AI model from DOGE to cancel approximately 2,000 contracts for veterans and VA facilities and let another 14,000 expire without any plans for renewal or replacement services. The Trump VA also falsely claimed to have saved $120.8 billion, more than the entirety of total VA contract spending in fiscal year 2024, by cancelling 445 contracts. In addition, at least 80 contracts the Trump Administration claimed to cancel, in order to boast about supposed \u201csavings,\u201d were actually terminated under the Biden Administration between 2021 and 2024.\n\nIn June 2025, Blumenthal led a spotlight forum to examine these contract cancellations with employees whose companies had a VA contract cancelled by DOGE, including a veteran-owned small business, an expert in cancer registries which are among the cancelled VA contracts, and an expert in federal contracting oversight and transparency. These witness underscored the harm of the cancellation of contracts on veterans and the sudden cancellation of their companies contracts without cause.\n\nBlumenthal and Minority Committee members are demanding immediate answers and comprehensive documentation from Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison and CEO Mike Sicilia on the ballooning cost of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program. VA\u2019s contract with Oracle was recently modified, increasing the no-bid contract\u2019s cost ceiling from $10 billion to approximately $27 billion. The Senators\u2019 letter follows the failure of Ellison and Sicilia to testify before a Congressional oversight hearing on the EHRM program, a refusal that triggered a unanimous vote in the House Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs to subpoena the two Oracle officials.\n\n\u201cWe write today to demand immediate answers following news the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program will now cost $27 billion\u2026Oracle has a responsibility to deliver a functioning EHRM to veterans, yet there have been years of delays and ballooning costs under your leadership,\u201d wrote the Senators in a letter to Ellison and Sicilia. \u201cEven more concerning, Oracle officials failed to attend a recent House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee oversight hearing on September 2, 2026, to answer questions on the timeline and cost of the EHRM. You have a responsibility to America\u2019s veterans and taxpayers to explain what is happening with this project and its increasing costs. Your failure to appear in Congress is a failure to uphold your commitment to veterans and we need immediate answers on this project.\u201d\n\nThe Senators backed up the House Committee\u2019s subpoenas to Ellison and Sicilia: \u201cGiven your absence from the oversight hearing, the House Committee subsequently voted 19-0 to subpoena you to explain the status of the project and excessive costs. We support this subpoena and expect you to comply with it.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal\u2019s letter was joined by fellow Committee members U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).\n\nIn an additional letter to Republican leadership, the Committee members separately called on Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS) to hold a full committee oversight hearing on the VA EHRM program, citing the significant cost overruns, repeated schedule delays, and patient safety concerns with the system: \u201cGiven the scale of federal investment in this program and, more importantly, the risks it poses to the health and safety of the veterans who rely on VA care, we believe the Committee has a responsibility to conduct rigorous oversight at this juncture. Veterans and the taxpayers who fund this program deserve a clear, public accounting of where EHRM stands today and what concrete steps the Department is taking to correct course. A full committee hearing would ensure the transparency and level of scrutiny this program warrants.\u201d\n\nThe full text of the Committee members\u2019 letter is available here.\n\nBlumenthal and U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) are teaming up to introduce the GRACE for Military Survivors Act\u2014bipartisan legislation that would provide military survivors more time to make informed financial decisions about their benefits without facing tax penalties.\n\n\u201cMilitary survivors who lose loved ones endure life-changing grief. We shouldn\u2019t force them to make important, long-term financial decisions about their survivors\u2019 benefits while also going through such unspeakable pain,\u201d said Senator Blumenthal. \u201cOur commonsense bill will give these families more time to make these critical decisions.\u201d\n\nWhen a servicemember dies, the surviving family has to make important financial decisions about their survivors\u2019 benefits while also grieving their loved ones. Current law only gives surviving spouses and children a year to decide if they want to put military death gratuities and Servicemembers\u2019 Group Life Insurance (SGLI) benefits into certain tax-advantaged savings accounts, including Roth IRAs and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. The GRACE for Military Survivors Act would extend that time frame from one to three years\u2014ensuring surviving families have additional time to make important long-term financial decisions.\n\nBill text can be found here.\n\nCracking Down on Self-Enrichment in the Executive Branch\n\nBlumenthal introduced new legislation to impose a 100 percent surtax on income earned by a company owned or controlled by the President, Vice President, Cabinet officials, or immediate family members as a result of a favorable government action. The Anti-Corruption Tax Act is in direct response to Donald Trump and other Administration officials abusing the power of the government to help the companies they own or control make money, at the direct expense of American taxpayers.\n\n\u201cDonald Trump has been clear: there is no ethical line separating his role as President from his family\u2019s businesses,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cHe and other Administration officials have repeatedly abused their power to enrich themselves and their families. My measure would put an end to this kind of self-dealing by putting a 100 percent surtax on any income that Donald Trump and his family\u2014or any future Administration officials\u2014generate thanks to a favorable government action.\u201d\n\nThe full bill text of the Anti-Corruption Tax Act is available here.\n\nBlumenthal Bulletin\n\nBlumenthal demanded answers after the delayed disclosure of suicide attempts on board the USS Abraham Lincoln.\n\nBlumenthal filed an Amicus Brief supporting Holocaust survivors and families in lawsuits over Nazi-confiscated art.\n\nBlumenthal joined a press conference to call for the SAFE Bet Act and the Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act.\n\nBlumenthal slammed sports books for using AI to rank and target vulnerable and problem gamblers.\n\nBlumenthal recognized National Day of Action for the Health Care Workforce.\n\nBlumenthal attended the Orange Fair.\n\nBlumenthal joined the inaugural Longest Table event in Stamford.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-09-26T09:43:57Z", "2026-09-26T09:44:55Z"]], "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://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/senator-blumenthal-week-in-review-9/18/2026-9/25/2026"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2758140694350004, "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"}