Four American citizens spoke at a congressional hearing Wednesday about abuses they say they suffered at the hands of federal immigration officers.
Marimar Martinez, like Renee Good and Alex Pretti, was a U.S. citizen shot while protesting immigration enforcement.
“My own government was calling me a domestic terrorist,” Martinez said at the hearing called by Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee. “And I was in a federal detention center with bullet holes all over my body.”
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Police video that the government never wanted released captures border patrol agents in October 2025 about to confront Martinez in her vehicle after she had been following them and honking her horn to warn neighbors.
“Alright it’s time to get aggressive and get the f--- out cuz they’re trying to box us in,” an agent is heard saying in the video.
There is the sound of gunfire as border patrol agent Charles Exum shoots Martinez five times.
DHS said she had rammed agents, but Martinez says it was an agent who swerved into her car. The Justice Department dropped all charges.
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House members also heard from Rev. David Black, a pastor protesting outside a detention center in Illinois who was struck in the head by seven pepperballs fired by masked agents.
“What was done to me is only a reflection of what is being done to people in my community who have no pulpit and platform,” Black said. “On a daily basis I witness the fear and the suffering of those who are being targeted by this violent campaign.”
Democrats invited White House senior adviser Stephen Miller and border czar Tom Homan to testify at the gathering, but neither agreed to show up.
Republicans called the hearing a distraction and say their focus should be on finding a way to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security.
“I wish my Democratic colleagues would drop this charade and reopen the department,” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY).
