During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) warned that President Trump is using anti-ICE protests in California to test the limits of his presidential powers to crack down on dissent.
00:00That notwithstanding, the president, the vice president, and their allies have continued to call all the protesters out there insurrectionists.
00:11Yes, this is the same man who provoked an actual insurrection at our Capitol on January 6th.
00:19The same man who incited a violent mob carrying Confederate flags against Congress.
00:26The same man who then pardoned the convicted felons who assaulted our brave Capitol police officers.
00:36Donald Trump is continuing to test the boundaries of his power, and he's surrounded himself with yes men and underqualified attack dogs from the DHS secretary to the FBI director to the secretary of defense,
00:51who will rubber stamp every anti-democratic step he takes.
00:56This administration's officials, and maybe not all, but many Republicans in Congress may choose not to do their job, but they cannot stop me from doing mine.
01:12Again, if you really think this is just about immigrants and immigration, it's time to wake up.
01:30What's happening is not just a threat to California, it's a threat to everyone in every state.
01:36If Donald Trump can bypass the governor and activate the National Guard to put down protests on immigrant rights, he can do it to suppress your rights, too.
01:48If he can deploy the Marines to Los Angeles without justification, he can deploy them to your state, too.
01:56And if he can ignore due process, strip away First Amendment rights, and disappear people to foreign prisons without their day in court, he can do it to you, too.
02:10Because California is just a test case for the rest of the country.
02:18Last week, for many, it was a warning shot.
02:21But I pray that it also serves as a wake-up call.
02:26We've now seen, since Thursday, we've now seen Trump threaten to do the same in other cities run by elected Democrats.
02:36He's saying the quiet part out loud.
02:41It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent.
02:46We all have a responsibility to speak up and to push back before it's too late.
02:55So I do encourage people to keep peacefully protesting.
02:59There's nothing more patriotic than to peacefully protest for your rights.
03:05Because no one's going to liberate Los Angeles, but Angelenos.
03:11No one will redeem America, but Americans.
03:17No one is coming to save us, but us.
03:22And we know that the cameras are not on in every corner of the country.
03:30But if this administration is this afraid of just one senator with a question, colleagues, imagine what the voices of tens of millions of Americans peacefully protesting can do.