Los Angeles, CA — In response to Alex Padilla, a sitting U.S. Senator, being forcibly removed from a press conference with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Krisiti Noem, Carly Pérez Fernández, Communications Director at Detention Watch Network issued the following statement:
“The violent targeting of a sitting US Senator is the undertaking of an unmistakably authoritarian regime, full stop. This is a blatant act of political retaliation and intimidation for Senator Padilla’s attempt to hold Noem and Trump’s Department of Homeland Security accountable for the horror they have inflicted upon his constituents these past several days. Suppression of dissent is a key tactic of the Trump regime — Trump is ramping up the targeting of activists and now elected officials to silence political opposition.
It is shocking how Senator Padilla was violently handled, and yet representative of what people across the country – mothers, fathers, children, and workers – face at the hands of ICE, typically worse. Everyday ICE is violently targeting and disappearing people when there are no cameras present. Trump’s immigration enforcement operations – the targeting, detention, and deportation of people – are intentionally and methodically designed to sow confusion, separate loved ones and destabilize communities. His cruel, multi-layered detention expansion plan puts lives in jeopardy and will undoubtedly lead to more tragedies while tearing apart families and costing taxpayers greatly.
This is a clear example of the rise of authoritarianism and undermining of democratic values under Trump, and we must call it out and denounce it swiftly. This week’s protests in Los Angeles and nationwide have once again illuminated that people do not want ICE agents and detention centers in their communities. Immigrants are our family members, neighbors, friends, coworkers, caretakers and more. They are vital and valued members of our community that we are called upon to protect.”
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Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States.