On June 6, U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, hosted a hearing titled “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Lawless Third Country Disappearances.”
The hearing pertained to investigating the cases of immigrants lawlessly kidnapped and disappeared to third countries like El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, South Sudan, and Libya. Members asked questions and heard from attorney experts representing some of those deported to third countries, including those disappeared under the Alien Enemies Act.
More information about these disappearances will be available in a forthcoming report by the American Immigration Council, examining the impact of the first six months of President Trump’s second term in office.
Among the witnesses at Friday’s hearing was Beatriz, a Venezuelan-American immigrant and immigration attorney. Below is her testimony:
Beatriz, House Judiciary Committee Testimony, June 6, 2025
Good morning, Ranking Member Jayapal and the honorable members of the House Judiciary Committee. My name is Beatriz and I am a proud Venezuelan-American U.S. citizen.
About 20 years ago my parents made the difficult decision to leave behind their life, and family home in Venezuela to immigrate to the United States along with me and my siblings, in search of a safer and more secure future for our family.
At that time the recent election of Chavez in Venezuela wreaked havoc and violence in our community. It became less safe to go outside our home, several of my family members faced threats. My family became fearful of expressing political opposition, not knowing if it would create more unsafety. It was becoming a Venezuela my parents didn’t recognize.
Even though I was young I remember running into my parents’ bedroom the night that bombs went off close enough to our home that the window in my room shattered. Years later, as a young kid newly arrived to New York–the sound of fireworks on the fourth of July would frighten me–triggering my memory of that fateful night when my father decided we had no choice but to flee our home and life in Venezuela.
Arriving to New York as a seven-year-old, everything was new and different. But the English classes my father pushed me to take and my young age helped me assimilate quickly. I grew up in New York alongside other Venezuelans but also as neighbors to many Caribbean immigrants–learning and loving their cultures and eating Dominican food–still my favorite. It was a quintessential American immigrant experience that shaped and motivated me. Although I had entered the country without lawful status, I was lucky to have access to U.S. citizenship eventually through my father’s employment.
School and studying were my strengths. I often felt isolated, going to predominantly white institutions, so I turned to books and writing for comfort. I ultimately graduated from St. John’s University and was awarded a scholarship to attend the University of San Diego law school–my first time on the west coast. While at law school I was drawn both to the intellectual challenge of immigration law and felt that my own experience and identity could add a human perspective often missing from the law.
I’ve been practicing now for almost a year mostly as a lawyer for unaccompanied children. The children I’ve represented are as young or younger than when I came to this country. I know how terrifying it is to be a child, alone and unable to speak English, trying to deal with authority figures. But now I’ve watched as federal dollars are terminated for legal services. Children have been left without anybody to advocate for them. Three-year-olds and four-year-olds are being brought to immigration hearings—speaking no English, and without a lawyer—to try to explain why they shouldn’t be deported.
The sadness I feel watching my former kid clients try to get through their case without real due process is compounded by my own sorrow and fear given the Trump administration’s recent targeting of Venezuelans and my community. The day I learned about the men who were sent to the prison in El Salvador I felt paralyzed. I began to think of all the Venezuelan men in my life who may be targeted or may have already been targeted. We looked at dehumanizing images of men at CECOT and recognized faces. I immediately went to some of my WhatsApp groups and found countless messages of people who had disappeared loved ones or were afraid of being targeted. As an attorney, I felt called to do something but had no clue what to do. I felt helpless, despite going to law school to be able to help. All at once, I was sad, scared and in a state of disbelief.
It’s clear that the Trump administration is out to get many Venezuelan people living in the U.S.–to strip them of status, deny them due process. We are a target despite the love we have for this country–the only place we can call home. Just like my kid clients who are now scared to go to school and who feel that pit in their stomach—that this country is not safe for them–now my parents and family feel that too. We feel it too even when we leave our homes with U.S. passports. And this is all a flashback for my father–a reminder of the culture of fear that comes in the early days of authoritarianism.
I felt compelled to testify today to share my own story because my community, not only Venezuelans but immigrants, are being demonized and dehumanized. I became a lawyer to contribute to my community in a meaningful way, trying to combine my love for reading and writing with my lived experiences. However, as attacks on my community persist, it angers and saddens me to see my community represented in this way. I am proud to be Venezuelan-American, and I want to show who we are. I want to push back against the narrative being created of us, used to strip us of our rights and our humanity.
The targeting of these Venezuelan men for disappearances is horrific for them–but also for all of us. We carry the weight of their dehumanization. We feel targeted, we feel scared. And by we I mean Venezuelan Americans, but I also mean “we” the other immigrants, who are our neighbors. It scares so many of us, US citizen immigrants and our families.
I feel compelled because as a Venezuelan immigrant, I know that if America fails to push back on these Trump actions or loses the fight for due process and basic rights now, we might all lose this American home as we know it—forever. Take our word for it. Thank you for your time this morning.
FILED UNDER: Trump administration
