Jesús G. "Chuy" García

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of a community activist, nonprofit leader, a youth mentor, a beloved dad and husband, Chicago Alderperson Michael Rodriguez.

Alderperson Mike Rodriguez is a lifelong resident of the 22nd Ward, representing it in the city council since 2019. Mike is my alderperson, my neighbor, and my good friend.

I have proudly watched him fight for working-class families, always striving to increase city funding to improve the services of the neighborhoods. As a progressive leader, one of his most significant achievements is the paid leave ordinance, legislation that provides mandatory days off to Chicago workers.

Mike is also a co-chief sponsor of an effort to strengthen Chicago's welcoming ordinance, which prohibits city workers to ask about a person's immigration status, ensures they are not denied city services based on immigration status, and prohibits the Chicago Police Department from cooperating with ICE.

Madam Speaker, I wish Mike much success in the next phase of his career

and thank him for all he has done for the 22nd Ward.

Remembering Mr. Taco

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a small family business that was a staple in my district. After 49 years in Cicero, taqueria Mr. Taco, founded in 1976 by Carlos and Thelma Lopez, has closed.

The Lopez family had a simple dream to serve good food and make every customer feel at home. They succeeded in building a family restaurant that offered kindness and amazing Mexican food, becoming a common lunch spot for many people who worked in the area.

Others would go to Mr. Taco for that late night burrito after hanging out with friends or would take their girlfriends on a date. I heard of a couple who even went there on their wedding night.

Mr. Taco leaves not only an empty space on the corner of Ogden and Austin in Cicero, it leaves an empty space in our tummies and our hearts.

Closing National Archives Branches in Chicago and California

Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the closing of the Chicago and California branches of the National Archives and the relocation of the records.

The leadership at the National Archives and Records Administration argues that the transition to digital recordkeeping has resulted in a growing volume of extra space at both branches. However, there has not been a full plan for this transition shared with employees, stakeholders, or the public.

People from across our region and Nation visit the facility in Chicago to obtain census and naturalization records to prove citizenship status, to find information about Great Lakes vessels on which they serve, to find information about exam records to identify their ancestors, or to study major historical events like the 1894 Pullman Strike and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.

In a recent visit to the Chicago National Archives branch, I was able to find my father's naturalization application. This is an important piece of family history. The work of agencies, museums, scholars, teachers, and the public continues to depend on access to these records, which are vital to our history and NARA's mission.

NARA must immediately halt the relocation, provide Congress with the necessary information about the agency's plans, and reverse this decision to move the more than 140,000 cubic feet of historical records. History must be protected.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of a community activist, nonprofit leader, a youth mentor, a beloved dad and husband, Chicago Alderperson Michael Rodriguez.

Alderperson Mike Rodriguez is a lifelong resident of the 22nd Ward, representing it in the city council since 2019. Mike is my alderperson, my neighbor, and my good friend.

I have proudly watched him fight for working-class families, always striving to increase city funding to improve the services of the neighborhoods. As a progressive leader, one of his most significant achievements is the paid leave ordinance, legislation that provides mandatory days off to Chicago workers.

Mike is also a co-chief sponsor of an effort to strengthen Chicago's welcoming ordinance, which prohibits city workers to ask about a person's immigration status, ensures they are not denied city services based on immigration status, and prohibits the Chicago Police Department from cooperating with ICE.

Madam Speaker, I wish Mike much success in the next phase of his career and thank him for all he has done for the 22nd Ward.

Remembering Mr. Taco

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a small family business that was a staple in my district. After 49 years in Cicero, taqueria Mr. Taco, founded in 1976 by Carlos and Thelma Lopez, has closed.

The Lopez family had a simple dream to serve good food and make every customer feel at home. They succeeded in building a family restaurant that offered kindness and amazing Mexican food, becoming a common lunch spot for many people who worked in the area.

Others would go to Mr. Taco for that late night burrito after hanging out with friends or would take their girlfriends on a date. I heard of a couple who even went there on their wedding night.

Mr. Taco leaves not only an empty space on the corner of Ogden and Austin in Cicero, it leaves an empty space in our tummies and our hearts.

Closing National Archives Branches in Chicago and California

Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the closing of the Chicago and California branches of the National Archives and the relocation of the records.

The leadership at the National Archives and Records Administration argues that the transition to digital recordkeeping has resulted in a growing volume of extra space at both branches. However, there has not been a full plan for this transition shared with employees, stakeholders, or the public.

People from across our region and Nation visit the facility in Chicago to obtain census and naturalization records to prove citizenship status, to find information about Great Lakes vessels on which they serve, to find information about exam records to identify their ancestors, or to study major historical events like the 1894 Pullman Strike and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.

In a recent visit to the Chicago National Archives branch, I was able to find my father's naturalization application. This is an important piece of family history. The work of agencies, museums, scholars, teachers, and the public continues to depend on access to these records, which are vital to our history and NARA's mission.

NARA must immediately halt the relocation, provide Congress with the necessary information about the agency's plans, and reverse this decision to move the more than 140,000 cubic feet of historical records. History must be protected.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of 1 year since the Federal Government under the Trump administration invaded Chicago, an American city, through Operation Midway Blitz.

President Trump was elected promising to go after ``the worst of the worst,'' but what we saw in Chicago was a spree of violence committed by masked goons against nonviolent citizens who overwhelmingly had no criminal records.

These Federal agents racially profiled people, pepper-sprayed neighborhoods, ripped families apart, and conducted military-style raids all to please much of the racist MAGA base. They did it all solely based on the color of a person's skin or the work they did: construction workers, landscapers, and street vendors like the beloved woman outside my district office who simply sold tamales.

Then they held these people in appalling conditions at the Broadview ICE Processing Center and beat those who protested outside.

ICE agents killed Silverio Villegas Gonzalez after he dropped his children off at school and then blatantly lied about it. Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez, a Montessori teacher, five times and bragged about it. All of this violence was brought on by their own government. It is shameful.

Donald Trump and his top officials, including white supremacist Stephen Miller, tried to take our dignity and divide our community, but they failed.

The people of Chicago organized. We armed ourselves with whistles, phones, and our U.S. Constitution. We looked after each other. Rapid response organizers kept the community informed. Volunteers organized walking groups and carpools to get our children safely to school. Churches and nonprofits delivered groceries for those who were afraid to leave their homes.

In the face of this massive opposition, the Federal Government largely backed down. One year later, people in Chicago are stronger, but many remain fearful and traumatized. Many of these agents continue to operate with impunity and no respect for due process.

However, efforts to hold these agents accountable are moving forward. These criminals cannot continue free and immune after the heinous acts they committed while working under DHS. Operation Midway Blitz serves as a tragic example of why DHS cannot be reformed. It is a rogue, lawless agency built to harm us. It must be dismantled, and in its place, we must rebuild an immigration system that keeps us safe and honors humanity.

When Democrats take over Congress and ultimately the White House, we must act. It has been over 40 years since immigration reform, and we are seeing what that is doing and has done to communities under this administration.

Communities like mine can no longer wait.

Honoring Raul Munoz

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Raul Munoz, a beloved community member, entrepreneur, and cultural steward whose work contributed to my community's gastronomic richness.

Raul helped make Little Village the vibrant center of Mexican culture and community that we know today. He first became connected to Taquerias Atotonilco while delivering ingredients in the early 1970s, eventually purchasing the restaurant and ensuring its authentic flavors remain a part of 26th Street, cementing it as one of Little Village's most enduring institutions.

Raul's legacy is more than his restaurant. It is about family, hard work, and the enduring connection between heritage and community. Raul showed that even when people leave their homeland, we never leave our culture behind. We carry it with us and root it in our communities just like Raul did.

Mr. Speaker, my thoughts are with Raul's family and loved ones. May he rest in peace, and may his legacy live on in the community he helped build.