Alex Padilla: “my colleagues, it feels like every single day the Trump administration finds new ways to defy the rule of law. They will…”

“my colleagues, it feels like every single day the Trump administration finds new ways to defy the rule of law. They will tear families apart, decimate local businesses, and deceive the public in order to distract from their own failures and scandals. And nowhere has this been clearer than in their cruelty toward immigrants. As I have said time and again, this administration is not really just focused on cracking down on dangerous, violent criminals. We hear that from them all the time. But in practice, it is far from that. If it was just deportation operations focused on dangerous, violent criminals, there would be no discussion, there would be no debate, and there would be no disagreement. But that is not what this administration is doing. They are going after all immigrants. The vast majority of those who have been arrested and detained, and many of those deported--many without due process before being deported--are not convicted criminals. Don't just take my word for it. These are statistics and data coming out of ICE themselves, the Department of Homeland Security. But through their indiscriminate raids, this administration is arresting not just undocumented immigrants but lawful permanent residents as well. There are U.S. citizens who have been arrested and detained, even veterans.…”