Overview

• Sen. Alex Padilla interrupted Secretary Kristi Noem’s June 12 briefing in Los Angeles to question plans to “liberate” the city and was forcibly pushed to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents
• In an emotional June 17 floor address, Padilla recounted being forced onto his chest and warned that such tactics against a U.S. senator could silence ordinary Americans
• Over 200 House and Senate Democrats, along with some Republicans, sent a letter to congressional leaders demanding an oversight hearing on DHS’s expanding immigration enforcement practices
• The White House and DHS defended Padilla’s removal, arguing he did not identify himself and disrupted the event, while critics across both parties accused officials of executive overreach
• Protests over the administration’s Los Angeles immigration raids continue under a federal deployment that California Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass have sharply criticized