Calif's US Sen. Padilla Calls on Dems to Fight More Forcefully [View all]

Sen. Padilla Shoots Back at Critics, Calls on Dems to Fight.

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/sen-padilla-shoots-back-at-critics?


Sen. Padilla Shoots Back at Critics, Calls on Dems to Fight.

ADRIAN CARRASQUILLO
JUN 13, 2025

Yesterday was, by his own admission, a shocking day for Senator Alex Padilla. It wasn’t just that he was physically detained after confronting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, or that he quickly became a leading figure in the Democratic party’s resistance to Donald Trump’s deportation regime. It was the little things, too—like the person who ran down the hall to yell at law enforcement officers to uncuff him.

“Of all people, Corey Lewandowski,” Padilla recalled, referencing Trump’s longtime loyalist who is now a top DHS adviser. “He’s the one trying to rein in the agents telling them to stop, to release me, to remove the handcuffs, offering me a cup of coffee.” It was, he added, “one of the most surreal things that’s ever happened in my life.”

In an interview with The Bulwark some 24 hours after he was manhandled and cuffed, Padilla was sharply critical of those who sought to malign his actions.

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There is a lot, lot more that Padilla offered, including a plea to fellow Democrats to more forcefully take on the immigration debate.