Schumer: Forcible removal of Padilla from Noem press conference ‘reeks of totalitarianism'
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the video of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) being forcibly removed from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and thrown to the ground 'reeks of totalitarianism' and called for an investigation into how it transpired.
A visibly angry Schumer lambasted the administration for not giving Democrats answers about the past week of protests in Los Angeles and said Padilla was doing his job as a senator to seek information.
'He's been thrown to the ground … man-handled. Brutally taken down, handcuffed. It was disgusting,' Schumer said. 'Anyone who looks at this, it will turn their stomach. … Reeks of totalitarianism.
'This is not what democracies do,' Schumer continued. 'Sen. Padilla was there legitimately in that building to ask questions of what's going on in California, which everybody wants to know answers to. We don't get answers when we ask the administration's questions in one way or another. Sen. Padilla was exercising his duty as a senator for his constituents to try to find out what happened.'
The New York Democrat went on to call for a full probe into how Padilla ended up on the ground and handcuffed.
'Instead, he gets man-handled, thrown out of the room, thrown on the ground and handcuffed,' Schumer continued. 'We need a full investigation immediately as to what happened and who did what and what's going to be done to see that this doesn't happen again — to Sen. Padilla or other American citizens who are seeking their right to redress.'
'It's despicable, it's disgusting, it's so un-American,' he added. 'We need answers. We need answers immediately.'
Padilla appeared to interrupt Noem toward the beginning of her press conference, which prompted security to confront him. He identified himself, but the security officers forcibly removed him from the room and later handcuffed him. His office said in a statement that he is no longer detained.
The Homeland Security secretary told reporters she would attempt to speak with Padilla about his concerns.
'When I leave here I'll have a conversation with him, but I think everyone would agree that wasn't appropriate,' Noem said about Padilla at the press conference.
'When I leave here I'll find him and visit and find out really what his concerns were. I think everybody in America would agree that that wasn't appropriate, that if you wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, that you would reach out and try to have a conversation,' she added.
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Like other Americans, immigrants themselves are affected by many of the same perceived challenges associated with illegal immigration, such as stresses on public services, housing shortages, and rising competition in certain labor markets. These numbers show just how far Biden's alleged "open border policies" have shifted immigrants toward supporting the Republican Party." Maria Cristina said: "This poll as represented here in the video doesn't really tell me much, though. "Let's say these pollsters just focused on Latinos who are foreign-born citizens. You're likely to find differences across Latino groups and geographic regions. People of Mexican ancestry who live in border counties along the Rio Grande, for example, are likely more hawkish on immigration than, say, a Dominican American in Washington Heights in NYC. A Cuban American who arrived in the 1960s and has no family left in Cuba might be more hawkish than a Cuban-born US citizen who arrived in 1996 and hopes to one day sponsor a family member. The more interesting question (to me) is why are some groups more hawkish than others? What is it about their experience that has led them to hold certain perspectives? "For many foreign-born citizens (like all citizens in general), perspectives on immigration are tied to the state of the economy. Historically, US citizens (including the foreign-born) have been more likely to demand bars to immigration when the economy sputters and they experience more pressure on their day-to-day lives. "As for why some immigrants voted for much depends on the group. Immigrants that fled a communist country, for example, might believe the MAGA-GOP's falsehood that Democrats are socialists or communists and worry about it. Or they might worry about the culture wars and feel that the Democratic party disregards their more religious or patriarchal values. There are many different reasons for the shift to the GOP. If so, voting GOP doesn't necessarily mean they liked Trump. Indeed, I'd like to see a polling question of GOP voters on whether they actually liked Trump." "But in the end, immigrants are most concerned about the economy and the opportunities they believe will be available to them." Jeremy Beck said: "Those are remarkable findings, although not entirely surprising. Whenever immigration levels spike, recent immigrants are among the first Americans to feel the impact. They tend to work in the same occupations. They feel the downward pressure on their wages, and witness the degradation of workplace conditions for themselves as well as new arrivals. They see the exploitation. They live in communities overwhelmed by unsustainable numbers. Mass immigration's strain on infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and homeless shelters affects foreign-born citizens directly and indirectly. "More people came to the U.S. between 2021-2025 than in any other period in history; more than half of them illegally. The shift in immigrant voters is part of a broader shift in American voters who live off of their wages as opposed to their stock portfolios. These immigrant voters were part of Trump's winning coalition in November and they delivered a decisive message to Washington, D.C. last November: Manage immigration at levels we can sustain, and credibly enforce the limits. Enten's polling should not be surprising to anyone who remembers the shift toward Trump in majority-Latino districts in South Texas. Or in Colorado's 8th district, which is 40 percent Latino, where two candidates campaigned on who was tougher on immigration enforcement. The border crisis was tied with inflation for the top reason voters did not vote for Vice President Harris; and thirty six percent of Latino voters cited immigration as a top concern. One out of four Democratic voters believe the Party deliberately open the border. President Trump willingness to enforce immigration laws gives him a clear advantage with these voters. Many immigrant voters who themselves work through a sometimes difficult legal process understandably rejected policies that led to a crisis in which millions of people who should not have been admitted to the U.S. were released into the country outside of the legal system established by Congress. "After the border crisis, voters are aware of how important it is to manage immigration policy in the national interest. The party that voters trust to fully enforce the law within the limits of the law has an advantage. The party that can set enforceable limits on immigration that serve the interests of immigrant voters could achieve a lasting realignment." What Happens Next Trump's approval rating among immigrant voters is likely to fluctuate. Meanwhile, coordinated nationwide protests against Trump and his administration's policies are also planned to take place in cities in all 50 states on the president's birthday on June 14.
