Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman who was shot by a Border Patrol agent in October, testified Wednesday before the Homeland Security Committee in Washington, warning federal lawmakers that if immigration agents aren’t held accountable, “more people are going to get hurt.”
Martinez, 31, survived being shot five times by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum after a car carrying three CBP agents collided with her vehicle Oct. 4 near 39th Street and Kedzie Avenue.
She said she was driving to donate clothes to a church that morning when she noticed an SUV that seemed to be driven by federal immigration agents who “had been invading my Hispanic neighborhood in recent weeks.”
After seeing uniformed Border Patrol agents in the car, Martinez said she followed the SUV, honked and shouted, “La migra,” to alert her neighbors of their presence.
Her car remained “two to three feet” to the left of the CBP vehicle when Exum veered into her lane. She made eye contact with Exum and “watched as he turned his steering wheel once again to his left and sideswiped my vehicle,” she said.
“I immediately froze, slammed on my brakes and stopped my car. The Border Patrol stopped just one to two car lengths ahead of me. At that moment, I believed I was in danger based on what I knew watching the news coverage of ICE agents… in Chicago.”
She drove forward, around the CBP agents, as one agent pointed a gun at her, she said. She continued veering left until she struck a curb.
“I felt burning sensations in my arms and legs. Shortly after, I began to feel sharp impacts and burning sensation as I continued to drive past the Border Patrol agents. I could hear my back passenger window shatter,” Martinez said. “I looked down and noticed blood gushing out of my arms and legs and realized I had been shot multiple times.”
Later, when asked about the need for accountability, Martinez cited the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of agents in Minneapolis, saying, “Look at what happened to Renee, look at what happened to Alex Pretti. It’s bound to happen sooner or later. If we don’t hold these agents accountable for their actions, more people are going to get hurt.”
Wednesday is the first time Martinez is testifying before an official committee. The Rev. David Black, of the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, also testified Wednesday about when ICE agents fired pepper balls at him as he prayed outside the ICE processing facility in Broadview.
Martinez first appeared before Congress at a Feb. 3 public forum organized in response to the deaths of two Minnesotans at the hands of federal immigration officers, telling lawmakers she wanted federal agents held accountable and to hear an apology. She also said she wanted the Trump administration to acknowledge she is “not a domestic terrorist.”
Martinez’s appearance at Wednesday’s committee hearing came at the request of committee Democrats who had also requested White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and border czar Tom Homan appear. The two Trump administration officials did not appear.
The Homeland Security Committee hearing was called to discuss the impacts of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown that has now lasted 67 days, the longest partial government shutdown in history. Senate Democrats have blocked DHS funding and are calling for reforms to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Customs and Border Protection tactics.
In March, Martinez attended a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, standing five rows behind then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as Noem was pushed by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., to acknowledge Martinez’s shooting was “wrong.”.
Despite comprehensive coverage of Martinez’s shooting and charges of impeding law enforcement that were later dropped against her, Noem repeatedly claimed she didn’t know about the case.
“Sir, I don’t know the situation or the case,” Noem said. “I’ll look into it to ensure that all the procedures were followed properly.”
Noem was ousted from her post two days later. There were rumblings of dissatisfaction from President Donald Trump after two straight days of testimony by Noem before Senate and House committees.