Greg Casar

25 kids in one Texas courtroom. 15 with no lawyer. The youngest was 3. One of them, 13-year-old Angel, broke down crying: "I have no one. I have nothing." And it's happening to kids in immigration courts across the country. It's evil. https://t.co/Y1wm4Ub2jG

This week, the most powerful AI companies on Earth signed a pledge with Trump to regulate themselves. It's one page. It's voluntary. It has no penalties. @SenSanders and I have a bill that is binding, to put a real watchdog on AI. Not a pinky promise.

Good news: Wilber Garces Perez finally had surgery to remove the bullet that was in his back for 11 days. It took far too long, and it's more proof of ICE cruelty. But we kept up the pressure, and Wilber got the care he needed. Speaking up for our neighbors works.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Greg Casar (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) sent a letter demanding answers and transparency from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel on the FBI’s planned increase of mass surveillance systems, such as Flock. In May 2026, the FBI issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to acquire automatic license plate readers (ALPR) systems, including Flock and Motorola Solutions, that offer the ability to search for license plate information “and other descriptive data such as vehicle description information, time/date criteria, and geo-location criteria.” Flock and Motorola Solutions, whose ALPR systems are used by local police departments, likely possess the capabilities to satisfy this RFP. While the FBI already runs a License Plate Reader (LPR) program through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to facilitate LPR information sharing with and between its law enforcement partners, the FBI’s plan to obtain direct access to an extensive network of cameras—such as those operated by Flock and Motorola—would dramatically expand the license plate data currently held by the FBI and institute “near real time” surveillance of civilians. The Members of Congress write: “The American people are clearly concerned about law enforcement having access to Flock data and about government surveillance more broadly. Entering into a contract that would give the nation’s largest law enforcement agency access to Flock data across the country would subvert the clear preference of the American people.” The Oversight and Government Reform Committee Democrats are requesting information by October 16, 2026. Read the full letter here. ### Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio. A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 119th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Outrageous. OpenAI has reportedly fired three safety researchers for sharing information with an outside AI safety group. This looks like they're firing whistleblowers. What are they hiding? I'll be sending OpenAI a demand for transparency.

The fox is guarding the henhouse. The billionaires profiting from dangerous, job-killing AI are writing the rules. Unacceptable.

Before I got to Congress, I organized to win water breaks for Austin construction workers. Then Abbott signed a law wiping them out. Now thousands of Texas workers are getting sick in extreme heat. In Congress, I'm fighting so every worker in America gets water breaks, a decent wage, and paid time off. Because working shouldn't be a death sentence. https://t.co/eMPf1F2opd

OpenAI's president admits his AI super PAC has become a liability. The pressure is working. Progressives have worked hard to make LTF as toxic as AIPAC. Now one of its biggest donors is backing out. Democrats need to stand with the people and reject AI billionaires' money.

We don’t need more ways for corporations to jack up prices, and that includes Big Macs. Surveillance pricing should be illegal across the country. I have a bill to ban it.

Trump is sitting down with AI billionaires today, including Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Huang, worth a combined $1.7 trillion. None of them are worried about losing their jobs, freedoms, or lives because of AI. Millions of Americans are.

A federal judge just ruled that locking people in hot Texas prisons without AC is unconstitutional. Every unit needs to be cooled by 2029. The state admits 20+ people died from heat in its prisons. Yet it wants to appeal the decision. Texas should stop fighting this, and start saving lives.

The CEO of Starbucks makes 1,700 times what the baristas make. He commutes by private jet. In other words, Starbucks can afford a fair contract. I'm boycotting Starbucks until they sign one. No contract, no coffee. https://t.co/LeNZ3QjSL1

446 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20003 Email Me (202) 225-5645 Subscribe WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Greg Casar (D-TX) led two separate letters demanding investigations and transparency from the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s process for providing legal services to unaccompanied children.Congressman Casar, as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, sent a letter to the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services T. March Bell requesting an investigation into the ORR process for issuing contracts to organizations providing legal services to unaccompanied children. Congressman Casar raised concerns with the ORR process issuing contracts, writing: “Under current law, ORR is required to ensure that the legal services provided to unaccompanied children are “qualified and independent.” ORR actions over the last year and a half indicate the agency is not serious about providing legal representation to children and may be working to expedite the deportation of unaccompanied minors. These actions raise significant legal and ethical concerns that must be investigated.”Congressman Casar wrote in the letter: “ORR’s previous attempts to remove unaccompanied children without due process demonstrates the Trump Administration’s disregard for these children’s legal rights. A failure to provide quality legal services will lead to vulnerable children who have a right to remain in the U.S. being deported to potentially dangerous and unstable environments.” Read the full letter here. Additionally, Congressman Casar and Congressman Joaquin Castro co-led a letter, signed by 60+ Members of Congress, to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Office of Refugee Resettlement Acting Director Angie Salazar demanding transparency in its process for awarding contracts to organizations providing legal representation to unaccompanied children. The group of lawmakers slammed the Secretary and Acting Director for awarding organizations, such as the Burke Law Group, without experience and expertise, jeopardizing the wellbeing of migrant children. The members demanded a more transparent process for awarding experienced organizations to represent unaccompanied children, writing, "Burke Law Group and Our Rescue lack experience, proficiency, and capacity to appropriately implement essential legal services to thousands of unaccompanied children. We are gravely concerned that ORR would entrust a vulnerable population with firms so plainly unqualified for the task. We urge ORR to find the best organizations to handle this contract through a competitive, public process.”The members criticized no-bid contracts awarded to firms that were connected to the president, writing, “The Trump administration has made a practice of issuing awards based on politics and cronyism rather than the public interest. We are not surprised that leadership in both Burke Law Group and Our Rescue includes individuals who previously served in various roles during the first Trump administration. Derek Benner, the current CEO of Our Rescue, previously served as the Executive Associate Director for Homeland Security Investigations during the first Trump administration. Children's legal protections should never be the currency of political patronage.” The lawmakers demanded answers about ORR's current contracts by September 25, 2026.The letter is co-led by Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35) and Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), and signed by Representatives Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), André Carson (IN-07), Judy Chu (CA-28), Gilbert Cisneros (CA-31), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), J. Correa (CA-46), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Christopher Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Bill Foster (IL-11), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Pablo Hernández (PR), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry Johnson (GA-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Norton (DC), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Janice Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Norma Torres (CA-35), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).Read the full letter co-led by Congressman Casar and Castro here.

Republicans should haul Sam Altman before Congress, to testify under oath, today. OpenAI’s models have now hacked real companies, hacked Australian government websites, and attempted to hack federal websites here at home. In @SenSanders' and my new bill: no frontier AI without a federal agency overseeing it.

JD Vance is bought and paid for by AI billionaires. That's one reason we're going to beat him in 2026 and 2028. Looking forward to talking with PA Dems about it tonight. https://t.co/Y5hf0hGwt0

Trump said he’d drain the swamp. Last night he sat Xi Jinping at a dinner table with Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Sam Altman, and other tech billionaires worth a combined $1.13 trillion. Trump’s friends get power and access. Working people get nothing.

This San Antonio Express-News op-ed is right: corporations mining your personal data and supercharging it with AI to set your price is sinister. It's why I wrote the first federal bill to ban surveillance pricing.

I saw Wilber in ICE detention yesterday, in a wheelchair with a bullet still in his body. Here’s what’s next: He needs surgery. And ICE needs to cooperate with the independent investigation. https://t.co/zPVzCPd2Dl

https://t.co/NIc1isNAsD

The movement to ban artificial superintelligence is growing. Here are the first 10 House co-sponsors of my bill with Sen. Sanders to ban ASI. Thank you: @RepYassAnsari @RepAOC @RepDeluzio @RepChuyGarcia @Rep_Grijalva @RepValHoyle @RepRoKhanna @RepStephenLynch @RepAnalilia @NydiaVelazquez

It's like jet fuel for AI. And top scientists are sounding the alarm. Asked about recursive self-improvement, Yoshua Bengio, a "godfather of AI," told CNN last week: "We shouldn't actually even engage in this. It should be illegal."

AI companies already use AI to help build AI. But humans are still steering. "Recursive self-improvement," or RSI, is when AI builds the next AI on its own. Which builds a smarter one. Which builds an even smarter one. Each version comes faster. Humans fall out of the loop.

But I want to hear from you. What are your top questions about our new legislation, or how Congress is approaching AI?

We shouldn’t just wait for superintelligence to show up. We need to do something now. This is not a radical notion. It’s one of the most obvious parts of our bill, and Congress should pass it.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Today, Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35) visited Wilber Rafael Garces Perez at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, three days after Garces Perez was shot by a federal immigration officer in North Austin. Staff members from the office of Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) joined the visit. Casar reported that Garces Perez saw a specialist for the first time today, and that the specialist said he needs surgery to remove the bullet still lodged in his body. Casar inspected the wound where the bullet entered Garces Perez's back, just below his neck, and saw heavy bruising across his chest. Garces Perez told Casar the following: He was discharged from the hospital within hours of the shooting, without speaking to his physician. He did not learn the bullet was still inside him until more than a day after the shooting. He spent his first night in a processing facility with no bed, in his hospital gown, cold and in intense pain. He finally received stronger pain medication by injection just one hour before the scheduled congressional visit. “I saw the conditions of Wilber’s injuries, and just like anybody that had been shot three days ago, he needs a doctor — not a deportation or a detention center,” said Congressman Casar (D-Texas). “My message to ICE is very clear: release Wilber from detention to get him the medical care he desperately needs.” “ICE's treatment of Wilber amounts to torture. After being shot in the back, he has received next to no medical care — despite being in excruciating pain and losing movement on his left side. He should be in a hospital, not held in isolation at the South Texas Immigration Processing Center,” said Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas). “He had permission to work in the U.S. and was delivering for DoorDash to support his family. Wilber must be released into medical care immediately. There must be an independent investigation, and the officers who shot him in the back must be held accountable. An agency that tortures a man like this should be disbanded.” Casar called for a full, transparent investigation into the shooting by local, state, and federal law enforcement. The agents from the shooting scene are scheduled to be interviewed tomorrow, and local law enforcement has requested to be included. That request has not been fulfilled, and Casar called for the federal government to cooperate fully with local law enforcement. Casar also called for the release of body camera and dash camera footage and answers on why Garces Perez was removed from the hospital. Casar has also requested a briefing from DHS Secretary Mullin by Monday, September 28. ### Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio. A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 119th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.