Congressional Democrats representing Northern Virginia are launching an investigation into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ conduct after an officer pointed a gun at a local woman in a Bailey’s Crossroads parking lot last week.
Reps. Don Beyer (D-8) and Suhas Subramanyam (D-10) announced the investigation yesterday (Wednesday) on Capitol Hill after meeting with Carolina Molina, a Loudoun County resident who filmed her encounter with ICE.
The investigation will take place in coordination with Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-11) and Democratic leaders of the Judiciary, Oversight, and Homeland Security committees.
“Last week, ICE agents threatened Carolina Molina with a gun and lied about her following them and trying to run them over,” Beyer said. “This dangerous and dishonest nonsense, unfortunately, matches what we’ve seen from ICE, not just in Virginia, but across the country. There have been other recent ICE encounters in Northern Virginia, in addition to this one, where agents hurt people without justification, or disappeared people without warrants.
“We want these agents off our streets and out of our communities,” he concluded.
Standing beside the lawmakers during the announcement was Molina, a licensed professional counselor who was visiting law offices around Columbia Pike, near the Fairfax County and Arlington border, on Aug. 10 when she saw ICE agents detaining two people.
In dash cam video footage that Molina posted on Instagram last week, the Loudoun County resident can be heard calling out “yo ho, you’re f—ed up” at an ICE agent walking toward the open door of an unmarked gray SUV.
Molina turned her car around out of a desire to avoid potentially drawing attention to clients of the immigration attorneys she planned to visit, she said in statements on social media and during a press conference on Aug. 12.
However, the agent in the gray vehicle drove in front of her car, and another parked behind her.
The video shows the masked agent in front of Molina leaving the vehicle, gun in hand, and yelling “are you following us?” He states “this is your warning” and that “you almost ran us over” — a claim not supported by the dashcam video.
“In so many situations there is not a camera, and … it’s the ICE officers sometimes making up stories about the person they have harassed or intimidated or pulled a gun on,” Subramanyam said during the press conference on Capitol Hill yesterday. “If not for her dash cam on her car, I don’t know what would have happened to Carolina Molina.”
ICE has previously stated that Molina could faces charges for the incident, accusing her of “weaponizing her vehicle” against the ICE agents.
The six congressional leaders also released a letter yesterday asking the FBI and Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to investigate the altercation. The letter asks that the agent be placed on leave until the investigation is concluded and his conduct is reviewed.
A list of questions regarding the agents involved and their training is also included. The legislators are requesting a response by Aug. 31.
“ICE’s own policies provide clear standards against which this conduct must be evaluated,” the letter states, citing potential violations of Molina’s constitutional rights and an ICE directive around the use of force. The letter also asks the agency to preserve body-camera footage taken by the agents.
When asked for comment on the investigation, and if body camera footage would be released, ICE’s Office of Public Affairs referred FFXnow to the Department of Homeland Security.
The department issued a statement saying that “Reps. Don Beyer and Suhas Subramanyam continue to refuse to do their jobs to protect their citizens from illegal alien crime and instead choose to smear our law enforcement.”
The statement calls Virginia “a hotbed of illegal alien crime,” and does not address whether it will release body camera footage in the Molina case. It goes on to say:
“Law enforcement officers use ‘reasonable suspicion’ to investigate immigration status and probable cause to make arrests consistent with the statute and the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court has already vindicated us on these practices.
“The ICE Office of Professional Responsibility diligently applies the proper personnel vetting regulations, including guidelines for national security, and evaluates all available information for every applicant based on these factors.
“We take allegations regarding misconduct seriously and cherish the public’s trust. We work tirelessly to uphold the rule of law and hold ourselves accountable.”
However, the congressmen said they’re concerned by multiple reports of their constituents being harassed, as well as reports of brutality toward Jose Mejia Hernandez. The Northern Virginia man wound up in the hospital with a brain bleed and significant facial bruising after he was allegedly stopped by ICE at a bus stop in Arlington.
Beyer noted that Mejía Hernandez’s altercation with ICE took place at 6:30 a.m. a day after Molina’s encounter with the agent.
“We’re certainly very concerned that it’s the same group of ICE agents running the corridor along Columbia Pike that have been involved in it,” he said.
Beyer said the group is believed to be behind other incidents where people were “disappeared” that the lawmakers “can’t talk about yet” because they don’t have clearance from the individuals involved.
As members of the minority party, the congressional leaders have no power to subpoena anyone without cooperation from Republicans. But the agent who pointed a gun at Molina could potentially be called to testify if Democrats take control of the House after this November’s mid-term elections, Subramanyam said.
“I would love to have him before Congress to explain his actions,” said Subramanyam. “Absolutely. I also want to add that we are … pleased that the commonwealth attorneys in Fairfax and Arlington are looking into … the Molina case and also the Mejía Hernandez case.”
More than a week after the encounter with ICE, Molina says she still feels “a lot of anxiety and fear” over what happened.
“I tend to stick to home,” Molina said. “[I] don’t really want to be out in public because I don’t know who could confront me for what happened.”
