Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) delivered a passionate address on the Senate floor, sharing his unsettling experience of being forcibly removed from a news conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Krist Noem last week, while urging colleagues to ‘wake up.’
Padilla began by describing the context of his visit to Los Angeles, highlighting the public immigration raids and increased military presence in his hometown.
While awaiting a briefing from U.S. Northern Command’s General Gregory Guillot, Padilla found himself delayed due to Noem’s news conference taking place nearby.
Intending to gain insight into Noem’s plans for Los Angeles, Padilla recalled how he approached the event, stating, ‘I didn’t just get up and go.’
He explained, ‘I asked and was escorted by the National Guardsman and the FBI agent into the press conference. They opened the door for me. They accompanied me into the press briefing room.’
However, it was Noem’s remarks that triggered Padilla’s emotional response, particularly her comments about attempting to ‘liberate’ Los Angeles from what she characterized as the ‘socialists’ in leadership positions, referring to Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass.
‘Colleagues, let that fundamentally un-American mission statement sink in,’ Padilla insisted. ‘That is not a mission focused on public safety. And that simply is not and cannot be the mission of federal law enforcement and the United States military.’
The senator, a child of Mexican immigrants and a native of the San Fernando Valley, also shared personal reflections about his exit from the engineering field after he protested against anti-immigrant sentiment during the tenure of then-California Governor Pete Wilson and the implications of Proposition 187 in 1994.
Padilla recounted the forceful manner in which he was removed from the news conference, saying, ‘I was forced to the ground, first on my knees and then flat on my chest, and I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway.’
He emphasized that he was left in the dark about the reasons for his detention, repeatedly asking, ‘Why am I being detained? Not once did they tell me why.’
During his remarks, he warned that President Donald Trump was exploiting California and its immigrant communities as scapegoats to deflect attention from issues like his public disputes with figures such as Elon Musk and the challenges linked to tariff wars.
Padilla ominously cautioned that if left unchecked, the U.S. military could soon be deployed to suppress not only immigrant rights but also the rights of citizens across the nation.
‘If you really think this is just about immigrants and immigration, it’s time to wake up,’ he asserted. ‘If Donald Trump can bypass the governor and activate the National Guard to put down protests on immigrant rights, he can do it to suppress your rights, too.’
As the Senate gears up to formulate its version of President Trump’s budget proposal, Padilla passionately called on his fellow senators to speak out.
‘No one will redeem America, but Americans. No one is coming to save us, but us,’ he declared.
He closed by reinforcing the power of collective action, stating, ‘If this administration is this afraid of just one senator with a question, colleagues, imagine what the voices of tens of millions of Americans peacefully protesting can do.’
image source from：nbclosangeles
