Senator Alex Padilla:

Last week, while conducting Congressional oversight of the Trump Administration’s intentionally inflammatory immigration enforcement operations and unnecessary military escalation in Los Angeles, I was violently removed, forced to the ground, and handcuffed for simply trying to ask a question at a Department of Homeland Security press conference being run by Secretary Kristi Noem.

Over the last few months, communities across California have been the target of the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate and intentionally cruel mass deportation agenda. They’ve gone to schools, places of worship, courthouses, and workplaces. So many of our communities are living in fear and worried about what this all means for them.

While the Trump Administration repeatedly claims it is only focused on violent criminals and gangs, their actions tell a completely different story. Targeting hardworking families or children in schools is unjustified and unconscionable. They’re going after non-violent cooks, farm workers, and construction workers – the very people that our government declared “essential” during the pandemic.

California is the most populous state in the nation. It is the most diverse state in the nation. It is home to more immigrants than any other state in the nation. And California is now the fourth largest economy in the world – not despite immigrants, but because of immigrants and their enormous contributions as workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs.

But this is not just about immigrants.

As people across the state, including Los Angeles, have spoken out against these cruel, indiscriminate raids, the Trump Administration has met them with increasingly authoritarian intimidation tactics – including federalizing our National Guard and deploying our U.S. Marines. These unprecedented and drastic measures are only making the job of local law enforcement harder and have far reaching consequences for our democracy.

As the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, I have a specific responsibility to provide oversight and accountability of the Administration’s immigration enforcement. I have a duty to demand answers and information to ensure our communities, local law enforcement, and service members are safe.

I won’t be intimidated. I won’t back down from doing my job as your United States Senator.

But it’s not about me. As Americans, we all have a duty to use our voices, to speak up, and to peacefully protest on behalf of our neighbors, our communities, and our state.

Stay safe and stay peaceful,

Alex Padilla
United States Senator for California

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