Congresswoman Pou to ICE Leader: “Would me being a Latina or me speaking Spanish be enough for ICE agents to…shove me into one of your unmarked cars?”
Pou decries “lawlessness, cruelty, and outright viciousness” of immigration enforcement and asks if ICE will endanger World Cup matches
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Nellie Pou (D-NJ-09) today grilled the leaders of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Pou pressed them for accountability on continuing abuses by the Trump administration.
“This is the first time any of you have testified before our committee. It took two American citizens being murdered in cold blood to get you to show your faces here. ICE raids schools, churches, and hospitals. And let’s not forget five-year-old Liam Ramos. You used him as bait and then detained him despite his father legally seeking asylum. Liam is the face of your cruelty,” Pou said to the faces of immigration enforcement leaders.
During her questioning, Pou called for answers on the continued incarceration of her North Jersey constituent Leqaa Kordia, who remains detained despite multiple court orders demanding her release.
“Why are you refusing to release my constituent? Why did you fail to inform her family where she was sent and the status of her condition? When will you set her free?” Pou asked the head of ICE.
Pou also questioned whether ICE activities could disrupt or ruin World Cup matches in New Jersey or elsewhere in America: “Yes or no – will ICE commit to pausing its operations and raids at FIFA matches and other FIFA-sanctioned public events?” she asked the head of ICE.
Last week, Congresswoman Pou called on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to explain why ICE agents are systematically hiding vehicle license plates to mask their work and identities. This week, Pou introduced legislation that would forbid ICE agents from manipulating their vehicle license plates.
As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, Congresswoman Pou has been a long-running critic of the Trump administration’s actions. On October 14, 2025, Pou led 11 members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation calling on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to restore federal security grant funding that is being slashed by the Trump administration by nearly 50 percent. On January 26, 2026, Congresswoman Pou signed on to a letter demanding that Secretary Noem answer questions about deaths in CBP and ICE custody.
At an oversight hearing on May 14, 2025, Pou confronted Noem, telling her, “You are actually breaking the law.” On January 28, 2026, Pou called for Noem’s removal, either by firing or by impeachment.
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