ICE Protests in LA Are Forcing a Tough Choice on Democrats
The stand-off between California and the White House has united the left coast but could create problems for the national party.
Facing off.
Photographer: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images
Until a few days ago, most Americans probably had never heard the name Alex Padilla. The 52-year-old Democrat, who serves as California’s senior US senator, is about as mild-mannered and low-key as politicians come. But then federal agents decided to drag him from a press conference in Los Angeles, shoving him to the ground and handcuffing him, all for having the temerity to ask a question of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question,” an emotional Padilla told reporters on Thursday in a clip that has since gone viral, “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.”