Katie Phang
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Folks, in five months, you're going to be really hot.
Just remember that, okay?
I'm trying to remind myself of that.
Well, hi, everyone.
As you heard, I'm la congresista Delia Catalina Ramirez, and I y soy la hija orgullosa de padres guatemaltecos, ciudadana de nacimiento por derecho y representante del Distrito 3, una comunidad que está en la calle luchando contra los fascistas todos los días.
Yes, I said it in Spanish, because even as the fascists seek to diminish, to divide and dehumanize us, we must remain powerful and defiant to fascists.
You know, I talk a lot about the authoritarian playbook and how this administration cast the other as enemies, weaponize fear, perpetrate corruption and reward cruelty and abuse executive power.
But tonight I want to talk to you about the Trump and his administration and their abuse.
They're abusing the power of government to prosecute dissent.
They're abusing immigration enforcement to terrorize us.
They're abusing detention to punish our neighbors.
They're abusing the military to occupy our cities.
They're abusing federal resources to enrich their donors, their campaign donors.
They're abusing the justice system to silence survivors, discredit victims, and avoid accountability.
We need to see that everything that Donald Trump and his cronies are doing are interconnected abuse intended to intimidate us, to control us, and to try to destroy us.
They want us small and they want us silent.
And they've tried to silence us by chokeholds, by full body restraints, by criminal charges, by care withheld, by reckless chases, by people disappeared and even executed.
But let me tell you, today, in that gallery, my seat is empty, representing more than the 40 lives we have lost to the violence of the Trump administration, who want our resources, our freedoms, our lives to advance their imperialistic, fascist, authoritarian agendas.
But here's the thing.