What we know

Members of Congress held a forum in Washington on Tuesday to hear testimony from individuals who said their lives were profoundly impacted by encounters with ICE and Border Patrol agents — in some cases with tragic consequences.

Among those who spoke was Marimar Martinez, of Chicago. She told lawmakers that she was shot five times by Border Patrol agents last October in the Brighton Park neighborhood.

Martinez testified that on Oct. 4, 2025, she woke up planning to donate clothing to her local church. As she was leaving her home, she noticed what she believed to be a Border Patrol vehicle monitoring her neighborhood.

She said she had no intention of following the agents but honked her horn to alert neighbors. According to Martinez, residents began activating their car alarms, creating noise in the area for roughly 20 minutes.

What she described

Martinez said tensions escalated after she warned her neighbors.

“I knew I had to get to safety before I was pulled from my car and possibly beaten or killed,” she told lawmakers. “I drove forward and maneuvered around the Border Patrol agent who had jumped out of his vehicle and pointed a gun at me.”

She said she moved into the far-left lane and struck a curb along Kedzie Avenue. Moments later, she felt intense burning in her arms and legs.

“At first, I thought I’d been hit with pepper balls,” Martinez said.

She later realized she had been shot with live ammunition. Martinez testified that she heard her rear passenger window shatter from gunfire. She pulled over, called 911 and was transported to a nearby hospital, where she said she feared for her life.

“I remember agents urging the nurses to hurry so they could take me with them,” Martinez said. “I was dizzy and couldn’t fully process what had just happened.”

She added that she was discharged from the hospital in less than three hours and then taken into FBI custody.