Statement from UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía on Forcible Removal of US Senator Alex Padilla 

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WASHINGTON, DC — Yesterday, during a press conference hosted in Los Angeles by U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) was forcibly removed, taken down to the ground and detained by federal law enforcement agents while he was trying to get answers and information about hundreds of missing  workers who have been unaccounted for after recent DHS workplace raids.

The incident occurred amid a wave of immigration raids across Los Angeles — which UnidosUS and a coalition of national Latino and civil rights groups have denounced — and growing protests throughout the nation. UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía issued the following statement in response:

“We are stunned and angered by the appalling treatment of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. The idea that a member of the United States Senate — and the first Latino ever elected to represent California in the Senate — was forcibly removed, taken down and handcuffed for seeking accountability from the DHS secretary and the Trump administration is outrageous and un-American.

“We agree with Sen. Padilla that if this is how they treat a United States senator, then we can only imagine how they are treating everyday workers — cooks, day laborers and farm workers — behind closed doors during these raids. And make no mistake — if this type of behavior continues with impunity, no one is safe.

“Every member of Congress should denounce this abuse of power. We demand a full and immediate Congressional investigation into the conduct of federal law enforcement during the forcible removal of Senator Padilla.”

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