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| "As a matter of fact, I've seen several islands sink" |
Jen Heiling looked straight at Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), who brilliantly said that an island could sink if the population grew too large, and told the congressman that her 11-year-old and 16-year-old are still waiting for her son and their brother to come home.
While questioning Admiral Robert Willard (then commander of U.S. Pacific Command) about a proposed military buildup on Guam, specifically, relocating about 8,000 Marines and their families (roughly 25,000 additional people) to the island, which had a population of around 175,000–180,000 at the time, Johnson stated:
"My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize."
He also referenced the island's narrow dimensions (about 7–12 miles wide at points) in the exchange. Admiral Willard responded dryly, "We don't anticipate that," before noting the population figures.
So it's obvious that Johnson is not the sharpest tool on the Christmas tree.
Anyway, an emotional House hearing on the human toll of sanctuary policies turned into a complete circus Thursday after Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson decided to dismiss the whole thing as a MAGA stunt and started whining about witness seating arrangements.
The congressional hearing, which featured families shattered by crimes committed by illegal immigrants, erupted into a tense confrontation when Johnson basically told the grieving mothers that their pain was no big deal compared to his favorite left-wing talking points.
Johnson drew fierce backlash from the mothers and from Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), after he appeared to wave off their tragedies and immediately pivoted to attacking "MAGA Republicans.
Anyway, an emotional House hearing on the human toll of sanctuary policies turned into a complete circus Thursday after Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson decided to dismiss the whole thing as a MAGA stunt and started whining about witness seating arrangements.
The congressional hearing, which featured families shattered by crimes committed by illegal immigrants, erupted into a tense confrontation when Johnson basically told the grieving mothers that their pain was no big deal compared to his favorite left-wing talking points.
Johnson drew fierce backlash from the mothers and from Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), after he appeared to wave off their tragedies and immediately pivoted to attacking "MAGA Republicans.
"The fireworks happened during a hearing titled "The Human Toll of Sanctuary Policies." Johnson claimed the victims' families were part of a "Steve Miller-approved" stunt whose only goal was "stir[ring] up passion and prejudice against immigrants who are people of color."
After tossing out a few quick condolences to the families of those allegedly killed and critically injured by illegal immigrants, Johnson wasted no time steering the discussion toward what he really wanted to talk about. He said the committee should be holding hearings on the "human toll" of the "Trump MAGA tax cuts," Trump's foreign policy with Iran, or the "cover up of the Epstein files."
He then rattled off a list of violent crimes committed by White men and brought up the death of Renee Good, who was killed by federal authorities in January while protesting immigration enforcement.
"I'm not minimizing the tragedy that is before us today with you three women, but the other tragedies at the hands of non-immigrants are just as important," Johnson said.
He also accused the Republican majority of strategically "sandwich[ing]" a Democrat witness between the victims' families for "dramatic effect."
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, was having none of it. He called Johnson's tirade "one of the most disgusting testimonies I have ever heard" and laid the blame for these tragedies squarely at the feet of Democrat lawmakers who spent four years pushing open borders under the Biden administration.
But the most powerful response came from Jen Heiling, mother of 18-year-old Brady Heiling. Brady was killed along with his girlfriend, 18-year-old Hallie Helgeson, in 2025 when an illegal immigrant from Honduras allegedly drove the wrong way on I-90 while intoxicated and slammed into the teens' car.
"You can put me in whatever order, in whatever seat. My tragedy is never going to be OK," Heiling told Johnson. "Today's our day. Hear us. Leave your butts in your seat. I don't want to hear your butts."
She described how her 11-year-old and 16-year-old children are still waiting for their big brother to come home. Their garage stall remains empty because Brady's car is still being held as police evidence.
"We can't pick a headstone because that makes it too real. But you can sit here and tell us about what kind of hearing this should be," Heiling said. "Renee Good is not the same as angel families. She made a choice. ... Brady and Hallie didn't get a choice. . . . They were living [by] American laws . . . and they were stolen by somebody who doesn't care."
Patricia Fox, mother of Carissa Aspnes, who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant, followed up by directly addressing Johnson's race obsession."I don't know if anybody has noticed, but I am not White. I wake up Brown every day."
"I'm not sure what race has to do with any of this," Fox said. "There's four kids that we talked about today, and y'all can't seem to stay on topic for what, an hour of your time.
"Today, we're talking about sanctuary policies and how they have wrecked our families. Y'all come and y'all feed Carissa. You get her up from her bed using a crane, and then you tell me and lecture me what this hearing should be about."
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After tossing out a few quick condolences to the families of those allegedly killed and critically injured by illegal immigrants, Johnson wasted no time steering the discussion toward what he really wanted to talk about. He said the committee should be holding hearings on the "human toll" of the "Trump MAGA tax cuts," Trump's foreign policy with Iran, or the "cover up of the Epstein files."
He then rattled off a list of violent crimes committed by White men and brought up the death of Renee Good, who was killed by federal authorities in January while protesting immigration enforcement.
"I'm not minimizing the tragedy that is before us today with you three women, but the other tragedies at the hands of non-immigrants are just as important," Johnson said.
He also accused the Republican majority of strategically "sandwich[ing]" a Democrat witness between the victims' families for "dramatic effect."
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, was having none of it. He called Johnson's tirade "one of the most disgusting testimonies I have ever heard" and laid the blame for these tragedies squarely at the feet of Democrat lawmakers who spent four years pushing open borders under the Biden administration.
But the most powerful response came from Jen Heiling, mother of 18-year-old Brady Heiling. Brady was killed along with his girlfriend, 18-year-old Hallie Helgeson, in 2025 when an illegal immigrant from Honduras allegedly drove the wrong way on I-90 while intoxicated and slammed into the teens' car.
"You can put me in whatever order, in whatever seat. My tragedy is never going to be OK," Heiling told Johnson. "Today's our day. Hear us. Leave your butts in your seat. I don't want to hear your butts."
She described how her 11-year-old and 16-year-old children are still waiting for their big brother to come home. Their garage stall remains empty because Brady's car is still being held as police evidence.
"We can't pick a headstone because that makes it too real. But you can sit here and tell us about what kind of hearing this should be," Heiling said. "Renee Good is not the same as angel families. She made a choice. ... Brady and Hallie didn't get a choice. . . . They were living [by] American laws . . . and they were stolen by somebody who doesn't care."
Patricia Fox, mother of Carissa Aspnes, who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant, followed up by directly addressing Johnson's race obsession."I don't know if anybody has noticed, but I am not White. I wake up Brown every day."
"I'm not sure what race has to do with any of this," Fox said. "There's four kids that we talked about today, and y'all can't seem to stay on topic for what, an hour of your time.
"Today, we're talking about sanctuary policies and how they have wrecked our families. Y'all come and y'all feed Carissa. You get her up from her bed using a crane, and then you tell me and lecture me what this hearing should be about."
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