A new front opens in the immigration battle: From the Politics Desk

NBC News

20 hours ago

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today's edition, we have the latest on the fallout from a Democratic senator being forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security press conference. Plus, Jonathan Allen explains how the GOP's megabill would provide a boost to President Donald Trump's deportation agenda.
— Adam Wollner
Padilla incident further escalates immigration showdown between Trump and Democrats
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles after trying to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference related to immigration, Rebecca Shabad and Jacob Soboroff report.
It marked the latest escalation in the battle between President Donald Trump and Democrats over the administration's deportation plans and the protests that have broken out in response.
The incident: 'I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' Padilla said to Noem, which prompted several men to physically push him out of the room.
Padilla's office shared a video of the incident with NBC News that shows the senator being taken into a hallway outside and pushed face forward onto the ground as officers with FBI-identifying vests told the senator to put his hands behind his back. The officers then handcuffed him.
Speaking to reporters later Thursday, Padilla said he was receiving a briefing from military officials when he learned Noem was in the same building and decided to join her briefing.
'If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,' Padilla said.
DHS responded on X, falsely claiming that Padilla 'interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself.'
'Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands,' DHS said, claiming that agents 'thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting.'
How Democrats responded: The incident provoked further outrage from Democrats.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., denounced the incident on the Senate floor. 'I just saw something that sickened my stomach — the manhandling of a United States senator. We need immediate answers to what the hell went on,' he said.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris called the incident 'a shameful and stunning abuse of power.'
How the GOP responded: Meanwhile, Republicans largely criticized Padilla.
'Padilla didn't want answers; he wanted attention,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. 'Padilla embarrassed himself and his constituents with this immature, theater-kid stunt.'
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called Padilla's actions 'wildly inappropriate,' saying they 'rise to the level of a censure.'
But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, called the episode 'very disturbing,' saying 'it looks like he is being manhandled and physically removed and it's hard to imagine a justification for that.'
How the 'big, beautiful bill' would add fuel to Trump's deportation agenda
Analysis by Jonathan Allen
If you like the immigration showdown in Los Angeles, you're going to love the sweeping domestic policy bill pending before Congress.
Though the measure would slash spending for many arms of the federal government, it would pour more than $150 billion into border security, interior immigration enforcement and deportations.
That includes $75 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement alone. Drilling down, $8 billion is earmarked to hire 10,000 more ICE agents and support staff, and nearly $900 million more is tucked into the legislation to give bonuses to ICE recruits and agents who commit to remaining in their jobs for five years. The goal is about a 50% increase in the size of the agency.
Trump allies expect that the money for ICE, which is conducting workplace raids like the ones at issue in Los Angeles, will enable the administration to ramp up its efforts to apprehend immigrants who are in the country illegally and try to follow through on the president's promise to deport people by the millions.
'If you want to do it at this scale — the scale required — you're going to have to have more people,' said Rachel Bovard, vice president for policy programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute, a nonprofit closely aligned with Trump's agenda.
That's happening against the backdrop of the mess in L.A., where Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines in nesting-doll fashion to protect federal agents and property. The Guard is there to protect ICE from protesters — some of whom have been violent — and the Marines are there to protect the Guard.
California officials have objected to the workplace raids and the president's decision to activate the Guard without the consent of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is suing to stop Trump. White House officials have threatened to arrest Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass if they break any laws in pushing back on the raids and military presence.
The battle among politicians turned physical Thursday when Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., approached Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a news conference she was hosting in Los Angeles. Padilla was forcibly removed from the room, pushed to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents after he tried to ask Noem a question.
There seems to be no end to the escalation. And while there's no way to predict the future, there may soon be enough money to ensure that it looks a lot like present-day L.A.