Downtown Los Angeles was the scene of impassioned protest and political scrutiny this week, as congressional Democrats convened a field hearing on Monday to investigate the far-reaching effects of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement. The hearing, titled "Due Process for All: Exposing Trump's Mass Deportation Machine," comes nearly six months after a wave of immigration raids swept through the city, leaving families fractured and communities on edge.
Before the hearing, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass led a march from La Placita Church to the hearing venue, joined by a coalition of community and faith-based organizations, local leaders, and families who have been directly impacted by the raids. The marchers carried stories of heartbreak and hope, seeking to draw attention to what they describe as unconstitutional detentions and a crisis of civil rights violations. "We want to establish a record because when the political winds change, we want to hold those accountable," Mayor Bass declared at the rally, according to KABC. "We want transparency and accountability for all of the egregious unconstitutional acts that are taking place."
The field hearing itself was a forum for raw testimony and pointed questions. Long Beach Congressman Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, set the tone early: "In this county, no one is above the law and the constitution protects everybody. The constitution clearly states due process is afforded to all people. Not just U.S. citizens." Garcia revealed that more than 170 U.S. citizens have been detained during ICE operations in Los Angeles alone—a fact that has fueled criticism of the administration’s methods.
The emotional centerpiece of the hearing came from families torn apart by the raids. Jasmin, a local resident, shared her personal anguish: "My kids cry going to sleep asking for his father. I still don't know what's going to end. Is he going to be out or not? Spend Christmas with his family. I just want everybody to know that we're here. We're not criminals. We're here for a better future for our family, our kids." Her words echoed the experiences of countless others who say their lives have been upended by sudden detentions and the looming threat of deportation.
Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crocket underscored the national dimension of the crisis. "I think it's absolutely imperative that I stand-up for the immigrants in our communities. Whether it's mine or on the whole other side of the country," she said. Crocket added, "They need to know we have their backs and that what you're seeing from the federal government is the worst of us. I need them to see the best of us."
One LA-IAF, the organization that brought the proposal for the hearing to Mayor Bass, described the testimonies as powerful and deeply moving—a sentiment shared by many in attendance. The committee heard from local elected officials, immigrant rights organizations, and families who described a climate of fear and uncertainty that has gripped Los Angeles since the raids began.
While critics decry the raids as a violation of civil rights, the Trump administration has remained steadfast in its defense of federal immigration enforcement. Officials maintain that their focus is the removal of "violent criminals" and the "worst of the worst." Federal authorities have denied allegations of mistreatment or substandard conditions in detention facilities, as well as claims that people are being arrested without probable cause. Still, the numbers cited by the administration are staggering: according to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 527,000 people have been deported and 1.6 million have "voluntarily self-deported" since President Trump returned to office in January 2025.
"This is just the beginning," said DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin, as reported by multiple sources. "President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem have jump-started an agency that was hamstrung and barred from doing its job for the last four years. In the face of a historic number of injunctions from activist judges and threats to law enforcement, DHS, ICE, and CBP have not just closed the border, but made historic strides to carry out President Trump's promise of arresting and deporting illegal aliens who have invaded our country."
Yet, data from the Cato Institute—a conservative think tank—complicates the administration’s narrative. Their analysis found that 73% of people detained by ICE since October 1 had no criminal convictions, and only 5% had been previously convicted of a violent crime. Critics argue that these numbers reveal a pattern of racially targeted enforcement that goes well beyond the stated focus on dangerous criminals.
The ramifications of these policies extend beyond the courthouse and detention center, seeping into the very fabric of daily life for immigrant families. On November 19, 2025, Physicians for Human Rights and the Migrant Clinicians Network released a sobering survey of 691 healthcare employees across 30 states. The findings were stark: 84% of medical workers reported significant or moderate declines in visits from immigrant families since President Trump’s return. Twenty-six percent said immigration enforcement has directly affected patient care, with 7% reporting that ICE or Border Patrol agents have been present inside healthcare facilities.
Children, in particular, have borne the brunt of these policies. Doctors described young patients arriving at emergency rooms without parents, facing dangerous delays in lifesaving care. "We are witnessing the creation of a generation with preventable trauma, delayed diagnoses, foregone treatments, and compromised development," said Dr. Katherine Peeler, a pediatrician and medical advisor for Physicians for Human Rights. "What we are documenting is systemic, orchestrated harm to immigrants, and therefore their children—harm that is entirely preventable. Parents are making impossible choices: declining surgery for their children, delaying emergency care, and refusing specialty referrals because they have calculated that the risks of deportation or family separation exceed the medical necessity."
According to the survey, 43% of clinicians reported disruptions in preventive services for children, while 36% noted problems with chronic disease management and 28% saw interruptions in mental health care. Some parents are so afraid of encountering ICE that they refuse to let their children play outside, leading to social isolation and, in some cases, rising rates of childhood obesity. "Their children suffer the double trauma of fear of family separation and immigration enforcement, as well as lacking a safe place to play and exercise, and other healthy outlets for children," one Massachusetts doctor explained.
Dr. Laszlo Madaras, chief medical officer of the Migrant Clinicians Network, warned that the consequences of these policies ripple outward to the broader community. "Our clinical network is sounding the alarm: fear is keeping migrant and immigrant children from critical care to stay safe and healthy. Health care is a human right. When fear blocks care for some, it harms all of us."
At the Los Angeles hearing, Democrats on the Oversight Committee pledged to continue their investigations and, if successful in the 2026 midterms, to use subpoena power and budget control to prevent future ICE raids. "We're going to be able to have the power to subpoena witnesses. Bring people in, actually do something that has more power to it. We also have the strong people of the budget to do something and not fund those," said Congresswoman Nanette Barragan.
Physicians for Human Rights has called on the Trump administration to end immigration enforcement near medical facilities and codify policies that protect access to care for all families, regardless of immigration status. As the debate continues, the stories from Los Angeles—and from clinics and hospitals across the nation—highlight the profound human cost of enforcement strategies that, critics say, prioritize fear over fairness and public health.
For now, the fate of thousands of families hangs in the balance, their futures shaped by the shifting tides of policy and politics, and by the voices of those willing to speak out in the hope of change.
