Latest / The People's News / Special Report - Trump's Gestapo: ICE in Houston and Fighting Back - TPN 9/20/26

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Special Report - Trump's Gestapo: ICE in Houston and Fighting Back - TPN 9/20/26 · The People's News

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Speaker 1: It's the week of September the 20th, 2026, and this
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Speaker 1: is what's on the People's News. This week is a
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Speaker 1: special edition. All Trump's secret police, all ICE, and how
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Speaker 1: Houston is fighting back. I'm Steve Gallington. This is the
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Speaker 1: People's News, and the People's News starts now. Trump's secret police.
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Speaker 1: also known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, have
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Speaker 1: murdered yet another innocent man. 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was
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Speaker 1: shot and killed by ICE agents while he was driving
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Speaker 1: his work van on the east side of Houston. He
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Speaker 1: was a Mexican national that had been in the Houston
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Speaker 1: area for 35 years and owned a business with three
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Speaker 1: sons and was working on permanent residency through a family-sponsored
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Speaker 1: immigration petition. The ICE Gestapo have stated that during an
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Speaker 1: immigration enforcement stop that Araujo tried to ram his van
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Speaker 1: into officers and they used deadly force to defend themselves.
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Speaker 1: Witnesses in the van and video evidence have shown that
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Speaker 1: there was no threat to any of the agents. The
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Speaker 1: east side of Houston, or Edo, has been the site
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Speaker 1: of increased raids by ICE in recent months. There is
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Speaker 1: no body camera footage. The agents have not been identified,
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Speaker 1: and they were masked and driving in two unmarked vehicles.
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Speaker 1: The community gathered at the site of the shooting for
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Speaker 1: a march and a rally, demanding more accountability.
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Speaker 2: She's part of LULAC.
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Speaker 3: It should now read a statement for the family.
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Speaker 4: Good evening, everyone. My name is Conchita Reyes.
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Speaker 5: I'm part of LULAC Council 60, but I've also been
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Speaker 5: around here in this area and throughout Houston as your
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Speaker 5: community advocate. I have a message here today from the family.
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Speaker 5: On behalf of the Salgado family, we are absolutely thankful
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Speaker 5: for all the support and love from my family has
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Speaker 5: been receiving from the community.
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Speaker 2: Here and at large.
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Speaker 5: Here on Canal Street is where my dad, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo,
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Speaker 5: was shot and bled out before passing away. He lay
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Speaker 5: here in pain and in fear for his life and
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Speaker 5: with the fear of leaving his family behind. He did
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Speaker 5: not deserve to die. He did not deserve to take
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Speaker 5: his co-workers to the job site, finish.
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Speaker 2: Let me read that again.
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Speaker 5: He deserved to take his workers to the job site,
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Speaker 5: finish the houses, and go back home to his loving wife.
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Speaker 5: Lorenzo and his family were long-time East End residents living
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Speaker 5: in the area for decades. The family would like to
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Speaker 5: express three wishes, their three wishes. Calling for an independent
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Speaker 5: investigation into the events that transpired yesterday. Calling for reform
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Speaker 5: to change the way ICE operates during a week with
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Speaker 5: ambush-style tactics and unmarked vehicles. And for his wife, Maria,
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Speaker 5: taken care of. That's his request, that she is taken
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Speaker 5: care of. Now that she is without her partner of
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Speaker 5: 40 years and his income, there is a GoFundMe.
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Speaker 3: Led by LULAC.
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Speaker 5: It's a national GoFundMe, has been an amazing help, and
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Speaker 5: would ensure that my mother would be taken care of
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Speaker 5: in these difficult months. So I ask of you to pray,
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Speaker 5: to stand tall, to stand united. Here we were celebrating
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Speaker 5: FIFA internationally. We had everyone from all walks of life
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Speaker 5: visiting Houston. And then we have a bullet piercing the
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Speaker 5: heart of Easton. I've been with the family since 10 a.m.
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Speaker 6: Yesterday.
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Speaker 5: When I saw Ronaldo, the son, the oldest son, walking
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Speaker 5: about this area, going back and forth from La Muchacana
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Speaker 5: all the way down, trying to get answers. He was
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Speaker 5: only given certain comments on text to go to Bintab.
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Speaker 5: They would not even tell him the.
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Speaker 7: Status of his dad.
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Speaker 5: Everything he got was through social media, and with the
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Speaker 5: help of Congresswoman Silvia Garcia, We were able to get
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Speaker 5: through with Bentab and the medical examiner.
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Speaker 3: She was able to push.
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Speaker 5: Through necessary information so that the families could find peace
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Speaker 5: and answers. At this time, the family is drained emotionally.
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Speaker 5: So they asked me to come here to y'all out
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Speaker 5: of respects to y'all, to East End, and to the
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Speaker 5: Houston community. It is not an easy journey. They're asking
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Speaker 5: questions that I have no answer. And we are relying
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Speaker 5: on our Congress people. We are relying on LULAC nationally.
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Speaker 5: We are relying on individuals that are offering their services
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Speaker 5: pro bono.
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Speaker 4: And we are relying on you.
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Speaker 5: So we ask that you be the voice of Houston
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Speaker 5: and to the Sagado family and a positive, respectful, but just.
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Speaker 3: We need justice, we need answers, and we need full transparency.
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Speaker 8: And say it loud!
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Speaker 9: And I want us to send a message back to
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Speaker 9: the Salgado family, beautiful.
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Speaker 3: I want us to send a message back to them.
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Speaker 10: And I want us to send a video.
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Speaker 6: Okay?
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Speaker 9: And I want everybody... So they can hear you. And
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Speaker 9: so Mr. Lorenzo can hear you from wherever he's at.
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Speaker 9: Tell him, you're not alone. You're not alone.
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Speaker 6: You're not alone. You're not alone. You're not alone.
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Speaker 3: You're not alone.
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Speaker 6: You're not alone.
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Speaker 10: You're not alone.
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Speaker 3: And for the widow of Mr.
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Speaker 9: Lorenzo, I want us to tell her and all her children,
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Speaker 9: three college students, that we tell her, she is not alone!
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Speaker 3: She is not alone!
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Speaker 2: She is not alone!
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Speaker 6: She is not alone! She is not alone!
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Speaker 10: She is not alone!
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Speaker 11: She is not alone!
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Speaker 10: She is not alone!
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Speaker 6: She is not alone!
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Speaker 10: She is not alone! She is not alone!
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Speaker 1: Local politicians are demanding oversight. The new congressman from Houston's
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Speaker 1: District 18, Christian Menefee, said he is going to fight
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Speaker 1: for a change in policy.
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Speaker 12: My real promise is I'm not spending another. I will
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Speaker 12: not vote for a single dollar to ICE. ICE came
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Speaker 12: to Houston and killed one of our own. This is
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Speaker 12: not the first time that this has happened. We saw
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Speaker 12: it with Renee Good. We saw it with Alex Pretty.
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Speaker 12: And every single time they come and they tell us
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Speaker 12: their version of events, but we don't see any evidence.
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Speaker 12: If ICE was not in our streets, Lorenzo would still
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Speaker 12: be alive today. Congress votes on funding to ICE. And
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Speaker 12: I'm here today to say, not another die. Not another die.
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Speaker 13: Not another die. Donald Trump has radicalized this agency. They
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Speaker 13: are coming to our streets not to make people more safe,
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Speaker 13: but to terrorize our communities.
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Speaker 12: This man was a father. He was a husband. He
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Speaker 12: was a neighbor. And I want you to look around
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Speaker 12: right now. You see Houstonians, Latino, black, white, Asian, everybody
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Speaker 12: standing here together because we.
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Speaker 4: Are one Houston.
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Speaker 12: Right now, Republicans control the White House and Republicans control
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Speaker 12: the House of Representatives.
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Speaker 3: But in November, there's going to be a flip.
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Speaker 12: And I will tell you right now, I serve on
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Speaker 12: the House Oversight Committee, and when January comes, ICE better
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Speaker 12: buckle up. Because we're going to investigate every single thing
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Speaker 12: that agency has done, how they've spent their money, and
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Speaker 12: how Trump has put them in our streets.
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Speaker 3: Not another dime.
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Speaker 2: Not another dime. Not another dime.
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Speaker 3: Not another dime.
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Speaker 6: Not another dime.
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Speaker 1: 54-year-old Juan Francisco Moreture, a Guatemalan citizen, called police after
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Speaker 1: witnessing a shooting in the parking lot of a Home
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Speaker 1: Depot in Bel Air. First on the scene were U.S.
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Speaker 1: Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The man that made
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Speaker 1: the call was taken away by ICE, and Houston police
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Speaker 1: were not able to talk to him about the shooting
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Speaker 1: he witnessed. This comes on the heels of the murder
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Speaker 1: of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was driving to work and
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Speaker 1: was driven off the road and shot by ICE agents.
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Speaker 1: This brought national attention to ICE's involvement in the Houston area.
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Speaker 1: Since then, they have continued with their arrests. The Houston
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Speaker 1: Police Department has continued to work with ICE. holding a
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Speaker 1: person suspected of immigration violations for a reasonable time until
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Speaker 1: ICE shows up. HPD has stated that the man that
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Speaker 1: was arrested was already in custody of ICE when they
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Speaker 1: made it to the Home Depot. FEAL, which means faithful, PSL,
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Speaker 1: which is the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and CIRSEN,
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Speaker 1: which means They Grow, are all immigration rights groups. They
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Speaker 1: ask the question, is what is the relationship between Home
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Speaker 1: Depot and ICE? Are they working together?
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Speaker 13: Is that our brother who has been detained for this
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Speaker 13: reason has to be released immediately because the only thing
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Speaker 13: he did was one, denounce a crime.
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Speaker 3: Second, he trusted the authorities.
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Speaker 10: And the authorities.
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Speaker 3: Have betrayed our brothers. Do you want.
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Speaker 11: To make that message of what Mr. Monroe did, which
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Speaker 11: was an adequate report?
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Speaker 3: Well, we want several things.
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Speaker 2: Number one, we would like to talk to them, so
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Speaker 2: if the family is watching or anything, we have also
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Speaker 2: been talking to national organizations to be able to provide
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Speaker 2: them with legal help to see what they need and
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Speaker 2: do an advice on their case and see what really
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Speaker 2: happened in this case. But before we continue, we found
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Speaker 2: the vlog camera, it's right there, attached to that black
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Speaker 2: pole right there. And you see they're very small, but
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Speaker 2: they can turn over information in real time. to be
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Speaker 2: able to either serve as license plate reader or facial recognition.
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Speaker 3: So you see that they're not super huge cameras.
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Speaker 2: They're meant to be hidden so that people can drive
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Speaker 2: past them.
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Speaker 3: And not notice.
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Speaker 2: So as you can see, this is a plug camera
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Speaker 2: that is designed to be hidden so that people can't
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Speaker 2: see it. But in reality, with artificial intelligence, We actually
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Speaker 2: saw a video over this weekend, I don't know if
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Speaker 2: you guys saw it, on social media where there was
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Speaker 2: a family who got pulled over because they were using
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Speaker 2: the license plate readers and the vehicle came back to
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Speaker 2: an undocumented person even though the person that was driving
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Speaker 2: was a U.S.
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Speaker 4: Citizen.
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Speaker 2: So, también, no sé si vieron el video de la,
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Speaker 2: de durante la semana, la fin de semana, a donde
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Speaker 2: una familia estaba manejando, yendo a comprar zapatos para regresar
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Speaker 2: a la escuela.
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Speaker 3: Pararon el carro, y aunque.
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Speaker 2: La persona que estaba manejando era un ciudadano, una ciudadana americana,
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Speaker 2: de todos modos, detuvieron a los padres que venían adentro
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Speaker 2: del vehículo.
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Speaker 3: The proof is in the pudding.
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Speaker 2: Every single Home Depot in the Houston area and in
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Speaker 2: other parts of the country have flock cameras. How is
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Speaker 2: this not allowing them to be or to work in
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Speaker 2: collaboration with ICE? La prueba está aquí en que todos
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Speaker 2: los home depots del área de Houston y en muchas
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Speaker 2: otras partes del país tienen el sistema FLOG. Si los
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Speaker 2: permiten que estén adentro de su propiedad,¿ cómo eso no
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Speaker 2: es en cierta manera o definitivamente colaborar con ICE para
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Speaker 2: detener a personas? The fact that they allow FLOG cameras
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Speaker 2: on their property... is a clear indicator that they are
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Speaker 2: collaborating to some extent, to a full extent, with ICE.
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Speaker 2: Because that system goes directly to ICE. Okay, so at
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Speaker 2: this time, we'll go ahead and conclude. Vamos a concluir.
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Speaker 2: Gracias por estar aquí y vamos a tener más noticias
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Speaker 2: conforme sean disponibles.
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Speaker 3: We'll have more updates as they become available. Thank you
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Speaker 3: so much.
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Speaker 1: Cesar Espinosa is with VEAL. and he says there are
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Speaker 1: cameras around the parking lot that he alleges are used
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Speaker 1: to give information to authorities.
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Speaker 3: I think that's the feeling of.
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Speaker 2: Many people, and that's what we're hoping people think twice
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Speaker 2: now about coming to Home Depot until they change their policies.
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Speaker 2: So we see, at least in the Houston area, every
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Speaker 2: single Home Depot that we visit has flock systems. And
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Speaker 2: then we're also noticing that more and more Home Depots
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Speaker 2: are not having this hostel architecture, which we're currently standing on,
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Speaker 2: to dissuade people or to deter people from looking for
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Speaker 2: work here.
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Speaker 3: So I think it's something that we're asking.
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Speaker 2: The public to make a determination for themselves, whether or
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Speaker 2: not they want to support companies who don't support them.
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Speaker 2: I know a lot of immigrant people come here not
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Speaker 2: only to look for work, but also to patronize the
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Speaker 2: shop here. And so at the end of the day,
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Speaker 2: we have to be smarter about where we put our
14:53
Speaker 2: money and we have to make sure that that. We
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Speaker 2: support businesses that support us.
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Speaker 14: Are the other hardware stores like Lowe's or anything, are
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Speaker 14: they doing the same thing.
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Speaker 11: That you know of?
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Speaker 2: From what we know so far in our investigation, we
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Speaker 2: have not seen plot cameras at other stores, only.
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Speaker 3: At Home Depot.
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Speaker 14: And you say they're working hand-in-hand with the police.
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Speaker 3: We know that they have for years.
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Speaker 2: So IOU used to organize this very same corner 25
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Speaker 2: years ago. And even then, they were working closely with
15:23
Speaker 2: constables and police.
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Speaker 3: To deter people from looking for work here.
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Speaker 2: And so now as things go on, as it becomes easier,
15:29
Speaker 2: it would come as no surprise that they're now collaborating
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Speaker 2: more and.
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Speaker 3: More with ICE.
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Speaker 1: Elma Cooper, with Crescent, says the same thing about the incident.
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Speaker 14: So we're here today in front of the Home Depot,
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Speaker 14: and they're saying that Home Depot is now working with ICE, If.
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Speaker 7: It is not working legally or under a signed paper,
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Speaker 7: it is collaborating because of the camera that Cesar just
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Speaker 7: pointed out. It is installed within the Home Depot property.
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Speaker 11: But they would say it was there for security. Yeah.
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Speaker 7: ICE also says that it's for security, the U.S., the
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Speaker 7: American security. And go to another people with that argument,
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Speaker 7: which is fake.
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Speaker 3: It's a fake news. It's a fake information.
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Speaker 7: It is not working with working families.
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Speaker 3: It's a fake.
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Speaker 11: Are ICE agents going into the store at all?
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Speaker 2: What is it?
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Speaker 11: Are the ICE agents going into the.
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Speaker 14: Home Depot at all, or are they just going to
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Speaker 14: arrest people from outside?
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Speaker 7: Based on the information that was given here and the
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Speaker 7: one that I saw in the news, it says that
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Speaker 7: the day before yesterday, there was a Mr. Muroi, or Muroi,
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Speaker 7: I can't remember his name. He was arrested here in
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Speaker 7: the Home Depot properties area. parking parking space and then
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Speaker 7: ICE came and got him and other people and he
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Speaker 7: was minutes later the HPD came here people from HPD
17:20
Speaker 7: came here and and he said that he was a
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Speaker 7: they say that he he is a a witness of
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Speaker 7: a crime that has committed for somebody else they in
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Speaker 7: He said something. He made his statement. I don't know
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Speaker 7: how he could make an statement here in the parking lot.
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Speaker 7: And then later, after that, ICE got him. He's still
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Speaker 7: in somewhere in the ICE custody.
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Speaker 14: So HPD was holding him until ICE came out and arrested.
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Speaker 15: Him.
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Speaker 7: I think ICE came first.
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Speaker 16: Mm-hmm.
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Speaker 7: And then HPD came, and then this person made his statement,
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Speaker 7: and then ICE got him. So based on what I know,
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Speaker 7: that was the order of events, which means that ICE
18:16
Speaker 7: came before HPD, and HPD couldn't or wanted to. protect
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Speaker 7: a person who is under ICE because they are collaborating.
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Speaker 7: That's the word, collaborating with ICE, which shouldn't be accepted.
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Speaker 1: Christopher Rivera is the Criminal Legal Program Senior Advocacy Manager
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Speaker 1: with Texas Civil Rights Projects. He says he can see
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Speaker 1: a lot of violations here of people's rights.
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Speaker 3: Sure.
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Speaker 17: Well, I work for the Texas Civil Rights Project. We've
18:50
Speaker 17: been around since 1990. And we're a civil rights organization.
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Speaker 17: We have three different departments. We have an immigration side.
18:56
Speaker 17: We have a voting rights arm, as well as a
18:59
Speaker 17: criminal legal department, which I actually work for. And my
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Speaker 17: name is Christopher Rivera. I work at the Texas Civil
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Speaker 17: Rights Project. I'm the senior advocacy manager for the criminal
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Speaker 17: legal program.
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Speaker 11: And we're at Home Depot right now.
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Speaker 14: And this is something that with civil rights rights, you know,
19:15
Speaker 14: people come here.
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Speaker 11: Or being violated.
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Speaker 7: Yeah, definitely.
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Speaker 17: What's happening here is that unfortunately, Mr. Monroy was deported here.
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Speaker 17: We don't really understand why or how the circumstances of
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Speaker 17: how ICE came to be aware of his location. But
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Speaker 17: if you look around, there's actually four different flock cameras
19:35
Speaker 17: throughout this parking lot. And there's actually one across the
19:37
Speaker 17: street right over there. And what these cameras do, it's
19:40
Speaker 17: actually in the entrance, there's one over there. And then
19:42
Speaker 17: I think there's one over here. And these are like
19:45
Speaker 17: their solar panels. I don't know if there's one there,
19:47
Speaker 17: but essentially what these Flock cameras do is they track
19:50
Speaker 17: all your license plates, and what they have to do
19:52
Speaker 17: is build out a profile of where you've been, where
19:54
Speaker 17: you work, where your children go to school, and where
19:56
Speaker 17: you worship, and also which Home Depot you locate. So
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Speaker 17: we're not exactly sure if they use Flock to deport Mr. Nimoy,
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Speaker 17: but there has been instances where HPD has used Flock cameras.
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Speaker 17: Matter of fact, they've used it 170 different times to
20:10
Speaker 17: do immigration inquiries specifically. So there is a lot of
20:13
Speaker 17: information showing that HPD has had a hand in aiding,
20:17
Speaker 17: facilitating deportation efforts and working with ICE. Matter of fact,
20:21
Speaker 17: recently they've been actually stopping individuals for a long determined
20:25
Speaker 17: amount of time instead of just the allowed amount, which
20:29
Speaker 17: is usually about 20 minutes or so. They've been holding
20:30
Speaker 17: people about 90 minutes on average, waiting for ICE to come.
20:33
Speaker 17: So there's a strong connection where HPD is working with ICE.
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Speaker 17: So When they say that they didn't call ICE this time,
20:40
Speaker 17: the community is a little bit suspect because they have
20:42
Speaker 17: a long history of working with ICE. So we're here because, one,
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Speaker 17: Home Depot, you know, everyone frequents it. But also, they
20:49
Speaker 17: have these flood cameras which monitor and track our location.
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Speaker 17: And really, that does blur our Fourth Amendment right against
20:55
Speaker 17: unreasonable search and seizure. And police officers are now able
20:58
Speaker 17: to use this without a warrant. So they're able to
21:00
Speaker 17: surveil us without any justification, really. I thought the HPD
21:03
Speaker 17: policy was, like, 15 to 20 minutes.
21:06
Speaker 9: Exactly.
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Speaker 10: It was that.
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Speaker 17: And then I think they changed the language to just
21:10
Speaker 17: a reasonable amount of time. But apparently a reasonable amount
21:13
Speaker 17: of time is enough time to have ICE come in
21:14
Speaker 17: and depart our community members.
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Speaker 1: That was Christopher Rivera with Texas Civil Rights Project. Their
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Speaker 1: website is TexasCivilRightsProjectAllPutTogether.org. Harris County District Attorney Sean Tehr has
21:27
Speaker 1: stated that the investigation in the shooting is ongoing but
21:31
Speaker 1: paused because he cannot talk to the person who made
21:34
Speaker 1: the 911 call. That person is being held in Montgomery
21:38
Speaker 1: County by ICE. He says this is now becoming a
21:41
Speaker 1: public safety issue because people are becoming less likely to
21:46
Speaker 1: get involved and come forward when a crime happens. The
21:50
Speaker 1: relationship between ICE and the city has become strained. Feel, PSL,
21:56
Speaker 1: and Crescent are not yet calling for a boycott of
22:00
Speaker 1: Home Depot. Hi, this is Steve Gallington, producer and host
22:05
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Speaker 1: and we will run with it. Shiny new one-hour episodes
22:19
Speaker 1: of The People's News drop each Sunday on The People's
22:22
Speaker 1: News podcast, hosted by Spreaker.com and linked to my website, gallington.com.
22:31
Speaker 1: Last week, we reported on the story, about the presence
22:34
Speaker 1: of ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston and the
22:37
Speaker 1: involvement of Houston police in detaining Houstonians for periods of
22:41
Speaker 1: time and the use of flock cameras by ICE. Those
22:45
Speaker 1: cameras have gained national attention, especially after a man was
22:49
Speaker 1: apprehended and taken by ICE at a Home Depot. He
22:52
Speaker 1: witnessed a shooting and called local police, but ICE agents
22:56
Speaker 1: arrived first and took him away. Activists are calling for
23:00
Speaker 1: an end of the use of flock cameras by the
23:02
Speaker 1: city and specifically ICE.
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Speaker 4: My name is Randall Callanan and I'm here today with
23:10
Speaker 4: various community groups because we have a deep concern that
23:17
Speaker 4: ICE is picking up witnesses and victims to crimes in Houston.
23:23
Speaker 4: People who have called for help from HPD and sometimes
23:28
Speaker 4: EMS and HFD, the fire department, are sometimes being taken
23:34
Speaker 4: after they call for help. We have the instance where Mr.
23:38
Speaker 4: Monroy had called HPD because there were shots fired at
23:44
Speaker 4: a Home Depot. He was scared for his life. The
23:47
Speaker 4: person shooting had a laundry list of infractions. And when
23:52
Speaker 4: HPD came, he gave him the information. He was a
23:55
Speaker 4: witness to this serious crime with a dangerous person on
24:00
Speaker 4: the loose.
24:01
Speaker 8: And then.
24:02
Speaker 4: He was taken by ICE. And we don't even know
24:06
Speaker 4: where he is. The district attorney was very concerned about
24:09
Speaker 4: it because he said when you take away these victims
24:11
Speaker 4: or witnesses, how can you prosecute? It's very difficult to
24:17
Speaker 4: prosecute without witnesses. Sometimes you can't. So either you plea
24:20
Speaker 4: bargain the case down or you have to let them
24:22
Speaker 4: go and let the criminals or the accused back into
24:27
Speaker 4: society without being punished or having a trial. We should
24:35
Speaker 4: not punish good Samaritans for reporting crimes. Witnesses and victims
24:44
Speaker 4: are frightened. And that's a broad fear, too. It's just
24:47
Speaker 4: not people over here illegally. It's people over here legally
24:51
Speaker 4: because we have seen many instances of people with work
24:54
Speaker 4: visas and legal paperwork who also get taken by ICE.
25:01
Speaker 4: So you will have the undocumented workers, the people with visas.
25:06
Speaker 4: They'll be frightened to show up. And now the same
25:09
Speaker 4: thing is happening with the Haitians because their protected status
25:14
Speaker 4: has been removed. So they're not going to want to
25:17
Speaker 4: come forward to report crimes if they're victims. And they
25:22
Speaker 4: don't care if they witness somebody getting shot in River
25:25
Speaker 4: Oaks or anywhere else in Houston. Why would they come
25:30
Speaker 4: forward when ICE is picking them up. And HPD, of course,
25:35
Speaker 4: has been cooperating with ICE. They've been calling ICE over
25:39
Speaker 4: and over again when immigrants are stopped by the police
25:44
Speaker 4: or even when they're investigated. By the way, Mr. Monroy,
25:48
Speaker 4: the witness to this shooting, I researched it. He has
25:52
Speaker 4: no criminal record except for traffic tickets. That's all he has.
25:59
Speaker 4: Yet ICE tried to say he had some violation regarding
26:02
Speaker 4: public safety. What he meant was a traffic ticket, because
26:06
Speaker 4: I looked it up where lawyers look up things like this.
26:11
Speaker 4: And so they're being misleading. Another working man with no
26:15
Speaker 4: criminal record, without a warrant for his arrest, picked up,
26:20
Speaker 4: in this case, when he was being a good Samaritan.
26:23
Speaker 4: And we're here today with members of CARE, members of LULAC,
26:29
Speaker 4: and members of the community and elsewhere to tell the
26:33
Speaker 4: city of Houston, do not let ICE take away the
26:36
Speaker 4: witnesses to these crimes. Keep Houston safe. Next we'll hear
26:42
Speaker 4: from Mr.
26:43
Speaker 1: Rodriguez.
26:45
Speaker 18: My name is Mark Rodriguez. I'm the president of Oakland
26:47
Speaker 18: Fullerton Civic Association, also own two businesses and second ward.
26:51
Speaker 2: I am very alarmed by what's happening.
26:53
Speaker 18: With our city. The Houston Police Department should not be
26:55
Speaker 18: turning people that are victims into into ICE. Imagine what's
27:00
Speaker 18: going to happen if, I'm going to ask the mayor
27:02
Speaker 18: along with the city council members, imagine if one of
27:05
Speaker 18: y'all got raped, robbed, or assaulted and the only witness
27:09
Speaker 18: was an immigrant fixing their papers through court and they're
27:12
Speaker 18: afraid to give a testimony because of the cooperation with.
27:15
Speaker 10: The Houston Police Department with ICE.
27:17
Speaker 18: I think the city of Houston, we need to hold
27:19
Speaker 18: them a little more accountable and they need to stop this.
27:24
Speaker 18: Voy a decir en español lo que tengo que decir.
27:27
Speaker 18: ahorita yo estoy aquí a pedir ayuda de la calle
27:31
Speaker 18: y los consejeros de lo que nos está pasando con
27:34
Speaker 18: nuestra comunidad, cuando la Houston Police está cooperando con ICE,
27:38
Speaker 18: cuando alguien es un víctima de un robo, de un
27:41
Speaker 18: asalto o un rape, y no está bien que la
27:45
Speaker 18: Houston Police Department andan entregando a esta gente a la policía.
27:48
Speaker 18: Ha pasado 34 veces donde gente ha hablado por ayuda
27:54
Speaker 18: y la policía de Houston los ha entregado a ICE
27:57
Speaker 18: Y eso está mandando un muy mal mensaje para nuestra comunidad.
28:01
Speaker 18: Eso nos va a afectar porque mucha más gente van
28:04
Speaker 18: a ser los víctimas de crímenes y van a tener
28:08
Speaker 18: miedo de reportarlo. Y en vez de estar ayudando a
28:11
Speaker 18: la gente, van a estar dándole más daño. Y yo
28:13
Speaker 18: creo que sí estoy muy molestado con la calle, con
28:16
Speaker 18: la ciudad, con la gente que corren eso. We need
28:19
Speaker 18: to put the Houston Police Department in place, taking care
28:23
Speaker 18: of our community, not helping ICE.
28:24
Speaker 10: Thank you. Jeff, would you like to... Hi.
28:34
Speaker 3: I'm Jeff Reese.
28:34
Speaker 19: I'm with the Greater Houston Coalition of Justice with Johnny Mata.
28:38
Speaker 19: And we're here because something's extremely wrong in America. All
28:44
Speaker 19: you've got to do is go into the Statue of
28:45
Speaker 19: Liberty and read the poem that the young lady wrote,
28:48
Speaker 19: Emma Lazarus.
28:50
Speaker 3: They asked for the poor people.
28:51
Speaker 19: They didn't ask for the rich people.
28:53
Speaker 3: She said, give us your tempest-tossed You know, they.
28:56
Speaker 4: Wanted the poor people here.
28:57
Speaker 10: They wanted the immigrants.
28:58
Speaker 3: Our country's made of immigrants.
29:00
Speaker 4: All of us are immigrants.
29:02
Speaker 19: So when did it change where immigration became a crime?
29:05
Speaker 19: If you were taken and your family was taken somewhere else,
29:08
Speaker 19: I guarantee you'd be scrambling to get back here.
29:10
Speaker 3: I know I would.
29:11
Speaker 10: It's natural.
29:13
Speaker 19: It's the best place in the world.
29:14
Speaker 3: Who wouldn't want to be here?
29:15
Speaker 19: So why are we taking a section of our population,
29:19
Speaker 19: a piece of our society, our family members, and we've
29:24
Speaker 19: ostracized them Because they speak two languages and we only
29:27
Speaker 19: speak one. I don't know, but there's something extremely wrong
29:31
Speaker 19: with America.
29:31
Speaker 10: It's a sickness and we need to get over it.
29:34
Speaker 19: It's going to take all of us to come together
29:36
Speaker 19: to stand up. But for somebody to be arrested when
29:39
Speaker 19: they call. 911, it doesn't matter.
29:42
Speaker 4: I'm a former cop. We took a note to the Constitution.
29:46
Speaker 19: The Constitution doesn't change because of who you are, whether
29:49
Speaker 19: you're a citizen or a non-citizen. Once you touch American soil,
29:53
Speaker 19: the Constitution covers you or it doesn't work at all.
29:56
Speaker 19: It either works for everyone or it works for no one.
29:58
Speaker 19: And right now it's not working for very few people,
30:01
Speaker 19: except the privileged few. So I'm sorry I've already said
30:04
Speaker 19: too much. Lisa, you want to say anything else? Johnny
30:06
Speaker 19: Motta regrets he could not be here, but he would
30:08
Speaker 19: be otherwise.
30:10
Speaker 20: I just want to remind everyone we're facing a human
30:13
Speaker 20: rights crisis right now. And if we cannot bear arms
30:18
Speaker 20: together and protect each other, protect our neighbors, protect our family,
30:22
Speaker 20: what is going to happen if you yourself face a
30:25
Speaker 20: crime and your witness is not there? Your witness is
30:28
Speaker 20: no longer available for the DA. You will not have
30:32
Speaker 20: a case being able to be having any type of.
30:35
Speaker 2: Justice or moving forward. So we have to bear arms.
30:38
Speaker 20: I'm asking everyone to join together as a community because
30:41
Speaker 20: this is a human rights crisis.
30:43
Speaker 21: Thank you. Cesar?
30:46
Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Cesar Espinosa and I'm Executive Director
30:48
Speaker 2: of FIELD. Mi nombre es Cesar Espinosa y soy Director
30:51
Speaker 2: Ejecutivo de FIELD. So in the past couple of days,
30:54
Speaker 2: we have spoken to Mr. Monroy Turuy's family. They're unfortunately
30:59
Speaker 2: not in the country. They're in Guatemala, facing a variety
31:02
Speaker 2: of issues in Guatemala.
31:04
Speaker 10: Mr.
31:04
Speaker 2: Monroy Turuy was the only sole breadwinner for his family
31:09
Speaker 2: in Guatemala. That being said, It is important that Mr.
31:14
Speaker 2: Monroy Turuy remain here in the United States. The least
31:19
Speaker 2: that Mayor Whitmire and the city council can do is
31:21
Speaker 2: to start the push for Mr.
31:24
Speaker 3: Monroy Turuy to get a U visa.
31:26
Speaker 8: Why?
31:27
Speaker 2: Because he was the witness of a crime, of a
31:30
Speaker 2: violent crime committed in our streets. So the least that
31:32
Speaker 2: city council and Mr. Mayor Whitmire can do is to
31:36
Speaker 2: push HPD, their own department, to ask for a U
31:40
Speaker 2: visa certification for him. So he may be here and
31:43
Speaker 2: may help to resolve this case. Simple as. Para nosotros,
31:50
Speaker 2: hemos estado en contacto con la familia del señor Monroy Turuy.
31:53
Speaker 2: Ellos desafortunadamente no están aquí en los Estados Unidos, están
31:56
Speaker 2: en Guatemala. Y él era la única persona que trabajaba
31:59
Speaker 2: en su familia para poder sostener a su familia en Guatemala.
32:03
Speaker 2: Una de las cosas que estamos pidiendo, o la única
32:05
Speaker 2: cosa que estamos pidiendo al concilio y al alcalde, es
32:08
Speaker 2: que ellos, por medio del Departamento de la Policía de Houston,
32:15
Speaker 2: This sends the wrong message to the community when these
32:22
Speaker 2: things happen. It only makes community feel less safe. It
32:25
Speaker 2: only makes people more wary of calling the police if
32:28
Speaker 2: they are witnesses or victims of a crime. And that's
32:32
Speaker 2: why every single one of us is standing here to
32:35
Speaker 2: remind City Council and Mayor Whitmire that in the name
32:39
Speaker 2: of public safety, immigrant safety also matters. So that's why
32:43
Speaker 2: we're all here, because in the name of public safety,
32:46
Speaker 2: we want to remind the mayor and the council that
32:50
Speaker 2: the safety of immigrants also counts. When these things happen,
32:55
Speaker 2: a lot of people are now afraid to call the
32:57
Speaker 2: police to report crimes, and this can put even more
33:01
Speaker 2: problems in vulnerable populations.
33:05
Speaker 15: That's correct.
33:06
Speaker 22: Under the UV process, a law enforcement agency or the
33:13
Speaker 22: district attorney's.
33:16
Speaker 4: Office can help to get a U visa from the
33:36
Speaker 4: proper court so that he can stay in the United
33:39
Speaker 4: States while the prosecution of the case pens, and that
33:42
Speaker 4: includes appeals. So, yes, that's correct. Well, let me address that.
33:51
Speaker 4: I have filed a lawsuit, a class action lawsuit, for
33:54
Speaker 4: anybody who has held by HPD for ICE because the
33:59
Speaker 4: Supreme Court of the United States trumps everybody else. And
34:03
Speaker 4: they said in the case of Rodriguez versus the United
34:06
Speaker 4: States that once the purpose of the stop is over,
34:10
Speaker 4: you have to let them go. Not 30 minutes, not
34:15
Speaker 4: one minute. You let them go. So anybody who is
34:18
Speaker 4: held by HPD for ICE, and that's regardless of whether
34:22
Speaker 4: ICE takes them into their custody, if they just hold
34:25
Speaker 4: them and ICE comes there and lets them go, that's
34:27
Speaker 4: still a violation against the city and the police officers
34:32
Speaker 4: who held them under the Fourth Amendment.
34:34
Speaker 2: We've got one more speaker.
34:41
Speaker 4: Well, we have one named individual. However, we have a
34:44
Speaker 4: bunch of other individuals who I'm speaking with. Can we
34:51
Speaker 4: have our last person speak first for care?
34:56
Speaker 3: Hi, everyone.
34:57
Speaker 4: Good afternoon.
34:58
Speaker 23: My name is Samiha Rizvi, and I'm with the Council
35:01
Speaker 23: on American Islamic Relations Texas. I serve as a government
35:04
Speaker 23: affairs and legislative manager. So we are here because of
35:08
Speaker 23: a question no crime victim should ever have to ask.
35:11
Speaker 3: Is it safe to call for help?
35:13
Speaker 23: Weeks ago, Eric Ruiz Lopez was pulled over for a
35:16
Speaker 23: stop sign.
35:17
Speaker 2: He had no criminal record.
35:18
Speaker 23: HBD held him for two hours, not for the stop,
35:21
Speaker 23: but so ICE could take him. Ten days later, he
35:24
Speaker 23: was deported, torn from his family. Attorney Randall Kalinin has
35:28
Speaker 23: filed a case, class action lawsuit, And HPD's own numbers
35:33
Speaker 23: show why. 103 people referred to ICE in the first
35:36
Speaker 23: quarter of this year alone. Now consider Juan Francisco Monroy-Toroy.
35:41
Speaker 23: He reported a shooting at a Home Depot to Houston
35:43
Speaker 23: police following the protocol we're all told to follow. Days later,
35:48
Speaker 23: ICE detained him. We still don't have real answers. Why
35:52
Speaker 23: did ICE respond so quickly? Why was he taken into
35:55
Speaker 23: custody at all? Home Depot claims it played no role
35:58
Speaker 23: and denies working with ICE, but it also confirms it
36:01
Speaker 23: does not block federal agents from its parking lots where
36:04
Speaker 23: its surveillance cameras, also known as Flock, operate.
36:07
Speaker 4: That is not good enough.
36:08
Speaker 23: Alongside Fial Houston and our partners, we demand real transparency,
36:12
Speaker 23: and we demand his release so he can keep cooperating
36:15
Speaker 23: with the investigation that he came forward for. City Council
36:19
Speaker 23: already took a step forward this spring, affirming that ICE
36:22
Speaker 23: warrants alone don't justify holding someone. But unfortunately, Governor Abbott
36:27
Speaker 23: threatened to pull $ 114 million in funding, and that promise
36:31
Speaker 23: quietly faded. That is bullying, that is intimidation, and it
36:35
Speaker 23: should not have worked. So today, alongside our partners, we
36:39
Speaker 23: asked that the city finish what it started– full transparency,
36:43
Speaker 23: real enforcement of the protections already on the books, and
36:47
Speaker 23: a clear commitment that a 911 call in Houston is
36:50
Speaker 23: never a first step towards deportation. Our families deserve.
36:54
Speaker 3: To feel safe.
36:55
Speaker 4: Thank you.
36:58
Speaker 2: It was very complicated because you're talking about a family
37:01
Speaker 2: who is relying on dad to take care of mom
37:04
Speaker 2: who had a stroke 10 years ago, who's now bedridden,
37:08
Speaker 2: unable to talk. And we're having to explain to them
37:12
Speaker 2: how all of this works, what happens next, what.
37:14
Speaker 3: Can happen next, what shouldn't happen next.
37:17
Speaker 2: And so it was a really difficult conversation to have.
37:19
Speaker 2: And at the end of the day, we have to
37:21
Speaker 2: have these conversations with hundreds of people in the city
37:24
Speaker 2: who get caught up by ICE every day. And I
37:26
Speaker 2: want to reiterate that today, right now, in this very moment,
37:31
Speaker 2: HPD and Mayor Whitmer can certify a U visa for Mr.
37:35
Speaker 2: Monroy Turuy and he should be released immediately. And when
37:38
Speaker 2: we asked earlier, when they asked about how long is
37:42
Speaker 2: TUNA for me, one second is too much to be
37:45
Speaker 2: held for ICE. So that's left to be said. The
37:49
Speaker 2: conversation with the Turuy family was very difficult because we
37:51
Speaker 2: have to explain to them. But what the Houston police
37:53
Speaker 2: and the mayor can do immediately Unfortunately, in Trump's, uh,
37:59
Speaker 2: en español. Desafortunadamente, en la América de Trump, eso es verdad.
38:03
Speaker 2: Pero existe después la cuestión de la certificación de la
38:06
Speaker 2: visa U.
38:08
Speaker 10: Que el alcalde....
38:26
Speaker 2: So it is true that being a witness to a
38:28
Speaker 2: crime doesn't defend you or doesn't deter you from being
38:31
Speaker 2: taken by ICE. But what can happen later is you
38:34
Speaker 2: can get a UBCIS certification, which the mayor, the city
38:37
Speaker 2: of Houston, and the chief of police could do right
38:39
Speaker 2: now and potentially lead to the liberation of Mr.
38:58
Speaker 9: Moore.
38:59
Speaker 2: Home Depot is complicit in this because not only do
39:03
Speaker 2: they allow or not prevent ICE agents from entering their
39:06
Speaker 2: parking lots, but they have contracts with the flock camera system.
39:10
Speaker 2: Every single Home Depot, and we have proof of this,
39:14
Speaker 2: every single Home Depot in Houston has the flock camera
39:17
Speaker 2: system at all of their entrances and in the middle of.
39:20
Speaker 21: Their parking lot.
39:22
Speaker 1: The Houston Police Department, namely Police Chief J. Noah Diaz,
39:26
Speaker 1: will be called to account by Houston City Council. in
39:30
Speaker 1: the coming weeks. Houston Police Chief Noah Diaz was supposed
39:35
Speaker 1: to face Houston City Council members and the public on Tuesday.
39:39
Speaker 1: He was asked to speak and answer questions during the
39:41
Speaker 1: Public Safety Committee briefing, but was told not to show.
39:46
Speaker 1: He was to speak specifically to on his procedures and
39:50
Speaker 1: guidelines for calling ICE when HPD is making a stop,
39:55
Speaker 1: and to answer the allegations that an individual called in
39:59
Speaker 1: to HPD to report a crime, and instead ICE showed up.
40:05
Speaker 1: HPD reported 103 immigration-related contacts from April through June, with
40:10
Speaker 1: 19 people turned over to ICE. With that, a lawsuit
40:15
Speaker 1: was filed by a Honduran man against the city of Houston,
40:18
Speaker 1: as he was detained by HPD for more than two hours.
40:22
Speaker 1: Under the city's legal department request, his chief and his
40:25
Speaker 1: assistants were told not to show up at the city
40:28
Speaker 1: council meeting. Houston Mayor John Whitmire tried to answer questions
40:32
Speaker 1: on why the chief was not present, as he also
40:34
Speaker 1: had to answer to Ronaldo Sagado, son of Lorenzo Sagado Orejo,
40:39
Speaker 1: who was shot and killed by ICE in a botched
40:42
Speaker 1: traffic stop.
40:44
Speaker 22: That the chief of police will come to council and
40:47
Speaker 22: explain what is going on.
40:49
Speaker 10: With HPV and ISIL.
40:50
Speaker 21: Thank you, and I read the letter and I was
40:54
Speaker 21: observing the entire session and I'm disappointed that the chief
40:58
Speaker 21: and administration was not here. The decision was made by
41:02
Speaker 21: the city attorney's office, Arturo, who could not be here
41:06
Speaker 21: because of a death in his family. I can assure
41:11
Speaker 21: you that the chief, certainly I, wanted to hear to
41:14
Speaker 21: answer your question.
41:16
Speaker 16: Certainly you as an attorney know that you do not
41:21
Speaker 16: compromise the case by testifying to the merits or lack
41:27
Speaker 16: of merits. We have a responsibility to look out for
41:30
Speaker 16: the city standing. There is a judge watching.
41:34
Speaker 21: I understand that the chief visited with each and every
41:37
Speaker 21: council member. in detail.
41:41
Speaker 10: I'm confident that he answered your question. We have a
41:44
Speaker 10: responsibility to the people.
41:46
Speaker 21: And no one wanted to be here more than the chief.
41:54
Speaker 10: But we have to be prepared in court.
41:58
Speaker 21: We understand the process of deposing someone in a bureau
42:04
Speaker 21: who represents the city and this county.
42:07
Speaker 10: And we're the defendants. advise the chief and his staff
42:12
Speaker 10: not to comment.
42:14
Speaker 21: He anxiously awaits the disposing of this case so.
42:20
Speaker 10: He can be here and answer any and all questions.
42:23
Speaker 10: And I look forward to that day.
42:24
Speaker 22: Thank you, Mayor.
42:27
Speaker 10: I respectfully disagree.
42:28
Speaker 22: We are both attorneys.
42:29
Speaker 4: Thank you.
42:36
Speaker 22: I understand that several of the alleged attorney-client privilege calls
42:39
Speaker 22: made this morning were wrong, particularly around the simple question
42:43
Speaker 22: of where the chief was. So I will stand by
42:46
Speaker 22: my request, and I hope the administration will continue to reconsider.
42:49
Speaker 22: I think it is improper to refuse to have the
42:52
Speaker 22: chief come.
42:53
Speaker 10: I understand that.
42:54
Speaker 22: We cannot answer questions about the specific case. We certainly
42:57
Speaker 22: understand that. But there are other questions that we can answer.
43:00
Speaker 22: And again, out of respect for Mr. Salgado and out
43:02
Speaker 22: of respect for the community that's demanded answers, I would
43:06
Speaker 22: ask that you reconsider and ask, tell the chief of
43:09
Speaker 22: police you must come to council and at least answer
43:11
Speaker 22: questions about the other matters on the report outside of
43:15
Speaker 22: the one that's.
43:16
Speaker 6: Set in motion.
43:23
Speaker 21: And no one wants to tell the fact more than
43:27
Speaker 21: the chief of police.
43:30
Speaker 10: We've got to have a serious conversation.
43:35
Speaker 21: You will have that option.
43:39
Speaker 10: We only have one city attorney.
43:41
Speaker 21: He has to prepare in anticipation of even more lawsuits,
43:46
Speaker 21: maybe a past action lawsuit. So this is a lot
43:49
Speaker 21: more complex, as you're well aware.
43:52
Speaker 24: I know you disagree with that city attorney pretty much
43:55
Speaker 24: since you got here.
43:56
Speaker 21: Attorneys can disagree. Nothing personal. The chief is listening to
44:04
Speaker 21: his attorney.
44:06
Speaker 24: The attorney will be back from his family business, and
44:10
Speaker 24: you can certainly discuss this with him.
44:13
Speaker 10: But the chief has a story and facts to reveal.
44:18
Speaker 10: You know, we had a policy of a maximum 30 minutes,
44:25
Speaker 10: which was quite frankly working.
44:29
Speaker 16: We didn't advise it to a reasonable amount of time.
44:33
Speaker 10: The clock starts running. when the red lights go on.
44:37
Speaker 21: I think you will find out that the circumstances require
44:41
Speaker 21: intervention of protecting the family or a car accident, multiple parties,
44:48
Speaker 21: before ICE, following Senate Bill 4.
44:52
Speaker 10: And our policies, or even contact.
44:55
Speaker 21: So the reflection of time is not an indication of
45:00
Speaker 21: any interaction or collaboration or contact with ICE.
45:04
Speaker 10: The contact with ICE was very minimal.
45:08
Speaker 21: The disaster, the tragedy at the Home Depot didn't involve
45:12
Speaker 21: HPD other than officers responding to a call.
45:17
Speaker 10: No contact with ICE whatsoever. So, it doesn't help us.
45:23
Speaker 21: The unity that we've displayed to use misinformation or inflame
45:29
Speaker 21: the situation.
45:30
Speaker 10: We want everyone held accountable. We only enforce safe.
45:35
Speaker 21: And that will be our policy going forward. I look
45:42
Speaker 21: forward for you to visit with the city attorney. I
45:46
Speaker 21: look forward to the police chief, his administration, answering all
45:50
Speaker 21: the questions.
45:52
Speaker 10: He's only busy with each and every one of them.
45:54
Speaker 21: It's just at the advice of counsel. He cannot be
45:58
Speaker 21: deposed or asked about policy or considerations. in preparation for
46:06
Speaker 21: the trial. And there will be other trials as well.
46:09
Speaker 21: So we have to look out for the city.
46:12
Speaker 10: We are defendants.
46:13
Speaker 21: I would love to sit here myself, name people, places,
46:18
Speaker 21: and where the contact was made. You go to, hypothetically, hypothetically,
46:24
Speaker 21: to a family violence situation, and you get there, and
46:27
Speaker 21: there are multiple children. It takes time to notify other
46:32
Speaker 21: family members to provide the safety of those family members.
46:37
Speaker 21: No clock is running as a real reflection of the
46:42
Speaker 21: common fact of following Senate Bill 4 in the city ordinance.
46:47
Speaker 10: So there's a lot of information. Let's be respectful to
46:51
Speaker 10: the mayor.
46:51
Speaker 21: We're starting to have to deal with this.
46:57
Speaker 10: For those that would suggest ICE out of Houston, No
47:00
Speaker 10: one has a plan to pull that off. I don't
47:03
Speaker 10: believe even a council member. How you would instruct.
47:06
Speaker 21: A federal officer or organization to leave our community.
47:12
Speaker 10: I wish we had never heard of the word. I've
47:15
Speaker 10: said that two years, but I also said we're going
47:18
Speaker 10: to get through it together.
47:20
Speaker 21: And my compassion goes out to all of you, because
47:24
Speaker 21: we emphasize repeatedly It's served by the city of Houston,
47:29
Speaker 21: regardless of your immigration status.
47:32
Speaker 10: We do not ask questions.
47:34
Speaker 21: I know for a fact HPD will pull someone over.
47:38
Speaker 24: To give a citation and they're released.
47:41
Speaker 10: No discussion, no discussion about this task. I watched the
47:46
Speaker 10: morning here. I thought, Vice Mayor Crook and Peck did
47:51
Speaker 10: a very good job in a tough situation. But that's
47:55
Speaker 10: the reality. It will not change.
47:57
Speaker 21: Because we have been sued, and the ramifications are much
48:03
Speaker 21: more than just the current case.
48:06
Speaker 10: We know for a fact, and I strongly, probably you
48:10
Speaker 10: know for a.
48:11
Speaker 21: Fact, there's going to be other lawsuits. So anything we
48:14
Speaker 21: do today will be an element.
48:19
Speaker 10: Of the next lawsuit, including a transaction lawsuit, which would
48:24
Speaker 10: expose the city. and many, many officers. And we just,
48:29
Speaker 10: we agree to disagree.
48:31
Speaker 21: You have a very excellent following. You feel strongly about
48:35
Speaker 21: your practice.
48:36
Speaker 10: I'm listening. We can only have one city attorney at
48:39
Speaker 10: a time.
48:40
Speaker 22: We obviously respectfully disagree about a number of things you
48:43
Speaker 22: just said. There's no point to go back into that disagreement.
48:48
Speaker 22: I will say there is no question that a woman
48:52
Speaker 22: called H-2-D to report her husband trying to kill her.
48:56
Speaker 10: And H-E-E called ice on that woman.
48:58
Speaker 16: And I'm just not going to tell you that.
48:59
Speaker 22: I want to give the floor back to Mr.
49:06
Speaker 10: Sugg.
49:07
Speaker 22: If there was anything further to add, again.
49:11
Speaker 10: I appreciate you being here.
49:15
Speaker 21: Thank you.
49:12
Speaker 10: I just wanted.
49:16
Speaker 6: To acknowledge you and the amount of courage and fortitude
49:31
Speaker 6: it must take.
49:32
Speaker 25: To stand up there and speak on this. I want
49:40
Speaker 25: you to know that we do hear you and we
49:44
Speaker 25: understand that you have a purpose. Things happen for a reason,
49:48
Speaker 25: but I think the words that you have spoken, the
49:52
Speaker 25: things that you stood up for, what you are pushing
49:54
Speaker 25: for matters. It's important that we hear you and that
49:58
Speaker 25: we act upon that. And I don't want you to
50:01
Speaker 25: walk away thinking.
50:02
Speaker 10: That this is the end and.
50:05
Speaker 25: That we're not We want to try our best to
50:07
Speaker 25: ensure that your father's legacy is something that is forgotten.
50:14
Speaker 25: And for your entire family to know that this body cares.
50:17
Speaker 25: We care about you. We care about what happens to
50:20
Speaker 25: not only you and your family, but this entire city.
50:24
Speaker 25: So I'll commit to finding a way to communicate with you,
50:29
Speaker 25: doing what I can to.
50:33
Speaker 10: Put the things that you want to see put forth
50:36
Speaker 10: into true action.
50:38
Speaker 25: Nothing is ever going to be a guarantee, and politics
50:41
Speaker 25: is going to be involved in everything. But I want
50:43
Speaker 25: you to know that, man to man, I really, truly
50:48
Speaker 25: appreciate your continued courage and strength to come before this
50:55
Speaker 25: body and advocate.
50:56
Speaker 10: On behalf of not only your family, but all of you.
50:59
Speaker 10: God bless you. The motto of the emphasize.
51:04
Speaker 24: Our relationship, compassion, you have my cell number. You know
51:10
Speaker 24: you can call me any time of day and night.
51:14
Speaker 24: I will share whatever information I have. I will take
51:18
Speaker 24: your message, your inquiries, anyone that you ask me to
51:23
Speaker 24: take to.
51:25
Speaker 21: As you well know, I've said publicly, this is horrible
51:30
Speaker 21: for the city and our nation to.
51:32
Speaker 10: Have to deal with. And certainly your family.
51:35
Speaker 21: Has bared such a cost that we will never.
51:41
Speaker 10: Be able to replace. But the city stands with you as.
51:44
Speaker 21: I cross this city, regardless of what community I'm in.
51:51
Speaker 10: Your family are in their prayers.
51:54
Speaker 24: And I know you have to get frustrated because you're
51:58
Speaker 24: having to.
51:59
Speaker 10: Deal with a system that we don't control Coming out
52:06
Speaker 10: of Washington, we had a congressional hearing. Now it's up
52:09
Speaker 10: to Washington to change the laws, the funding.
52:12
Speaker 21: I do understand that the independent investigation is coming soon
52:22
Speaker 21: to a close.
52:23
Speaker 24: I hope we'll give you some accountability for the bad actors,
52:27
Speaker 24: the murderers.
52:29
Speaker 10: But I wish there was something I could push a
52:32
Speaker 10: button to do.
52:34
Speaker 24: But HVD is not collaborating or interacting.
52:41
Speaker 10: I'm just telling you that.
52:44
Speaker 6: That's a lie. Thank you.
52:46
Speaker 10: Thank you for being here. Thank you. I just want
52:52
Speaker 10: to quickly say my mom, who.
52:56
Speaker 25: Is obviously still dealing with this process, she has shown
53:00
Speaker 25: me courage that I honestly don't know where she gets
53:03
Speaker 25: the strength from.
53:05
Speaker 10: But she is always also thinking about others. And whereas,
53:10
Speaker 10: you know, apart from the investigation, there's really nothing else
53:13
Speaker 10: I can do.
53:13
Speaker 15: For my dad.
53:13
Speaker 10: But she also wants, she's also a very big proponent
53:19
Speaker 10: on the mission to make sure that nothing like this
53:20
Speaker 10: ever happens again. So I know not much I can
53:25
Speaker 10: do for my dad anymore.
53:27
Speaker 21: But I just really want to remind you guys that
53:29
Speaker 21: there's hundreds of thousands of people living here in.
53:34
Speaker 10: The city of Houston that are just like my dad.
53:37
Speaker 10: And they need to be protected. Because nothing can be
53:40
Speaker 10: done for my dad. He's gone.
53:43
Speaker 21: Not a lot can be done for the rest of
53:45
Speaker 21: the immigrant community here in Houston.
53:47
Speaker 24: And I really don't want anyone to die.
53:53
Speaker 10: Thank you for being here.
53:56
Speaker 1: Retired physicist and scientist Jake Kusher made comments to Houston
54:01
Speaker 1: City Council on flock camera usage by HPD.
54:06
Speaker 4: Well, I did not comment on flock cameras.
54:10
Speaker 26: My comment is on an investigation that occurred in the
54:14
Speaker 26: state of Utah regarding interrogation of flock data. And that
54:19
Speaker 26: was done by an independent organization that found a small
54:22
Speaker 26: county in Utah, Weaver County, had 4.5.
54:27
Speaker 4: Million searches of their system.
54:30
Speaker 15: Presumably those are nationwide searches, and they're not interested in
54:34
Speaker 15: Weber County.
54:35
Speaker 10: They're going all over the country.
54:37
Speaker 15: Of those 4.5 million searches, 1.9 million came from HPD,
54:43
Speaker 15: from the city of Houston, from Houston Police Department. So
54:46
Speaker 15: what's happening is there's been mass-scale interrogation of the National
54:50
Speaker 15: Flock Data System by HPD on behalf of someone we
54:55
Speaker 15: don't know.
54:56
Speaker 4: There's a really interesting piece of this, and this is
54:58
Speaker 4: on Reddit, I found this.
55:01
Speaker 15: Some of the data indicates that the searches were carried
55:04
Speaker 15: out on behalf of immigration investigations.
55:08
Speaker 4: Most of the searches are without attribution at all, so
55:10
Speaker 4: we don't know the cause.
55:11
Speaker 15: And they would either leave it blank, or they would
55:14
Speaker 15: say something silly, like INV, investigation.
55:18
Speaker 8: But again... 40% of the nationwide flock searches from 2022
55:25
Speaker 8: to 2026 were carried out by HPD.
55:29
Speaker 15: And that implies an automated process that was established by
55:34
Speaker 15: someone at HPD, likely at the behest of a higher authority.
55:41
Speaker 4: And we can all guess who that is.
55:42
Speaker 10: It's probably somebody at DHS.
55:44
Speaker 4: So again, there's some sort of very high-level collaboration.
55:46
Speaker 15: And what's notable is this is from 2022 to 2026.
55:50
Speaker 15: So it spans two different mayors and two different district
55:53
Speaker 15: attorneys and implies a high-level conspiracy to interrogate Flock. There's
56:00
Speaker 15: no way a single person can do 1.9 million searches
56:03
Speaker 15: by hand over 40 years.
56:05
Speaker 2: That's carried out by an automated process.
56:07
Speaker 15: So likely what's happening is there's a plate reader somewhere
56:11
Speaker 15: that is sending out data, and that plate reader is
56:16
Speaker 15: then transmitting that data to, for instance... DHS, and they're
56:22
Speaker 15: sending those interrogations to HPD who are then sending out
56:25
Speaker 15: the interrogations to PLOC.
56:27
Speaker 2: That's my guess, I do not know.
56:29
Speaker 11: The privacy issue also.
56:31
Speaker 4: Comes to mind.
56:32
Speaker 15: Oh, there are privacy issues throughout the country. One very
56:36
Speaker 15: interesting privacy is that many of these municipalities specifically prohibit
56:43
Speaker 15: automated plate reader data to.
56:45
Speaker 4: Be used to interrogate their camera systems.
56:49
Speaker 15: So HPD may have violated Utah law and many other
56:53
Speaker 15: municipalities in their actions.
56:55
Speaker 1: That was retired physicist and scientist Jake Kusher commenting to
56:59
Speaker 1: Houston City Council on flock camera usage. The People's News
57:05
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