From PBS NewsHour.
Marimar Martinez, who survived being shot by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent last year, testified at a congressional forum Tuesday on use of force by federal immigration agents.
Martinez detailed her experience, including how evidence later contradicted the agent’s narrative on what happened.
“I’m born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where I learned the values of resilience, community, respect, love and hope,” she said. “On Oct. 4, 2025, those values were tested when my life was nearly taken by my own government.”
In the high-profile case, a Border Patrol agent shot the U.S citizen and first-generation Mexican American five times during an immigration enforcement operation, dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” in Chicago. Federal prosecutors accused Martinez of ramming her vehicle into an agent before the shots rang out. A judge later dismissed the criminal charges after evidence challenged the government’s claim that it was a “defensive” shooting.
Martinez’s lawyer is now pushing for evidence in the case to be released to show how DHS responds when "their agents use deadly force against U.S. citizens."
“How many more lives must be lost before meaningful action is taken?” Martinez said.
Federal immigration agents have been involved in more than a dozen shootings, some fatal, since President Donald Trump began his second term, sparking public outcry over use of force by officers deployed as part of his immigration crackdown.
Families of victims and residents of Minneapolis, where two fatal shootings occurred last month, have demanded more transparency and accountability from the government, which has tried to shut local and state law enforcement out of investigations into the deaths.
The issue became a driving factor behind the partial government shutdown this week. Democrats refused to agree to a government funding deal for a handful of agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, without reforms to ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including requiring agents to wear body cameras, refrain from obscuring their faces and obtain judicial warrants for arrests. Lawmakers approved a short-term measure Tuesday that funds DHS only through Feb. 13, while debate continues over these proposals.
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