Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., is calling on Republicans to stop paying lip service to voters’ concerns about the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement and to back Democratic legislation to curb President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push.
“If you’re genuine, then join our efforts to rein this administration,” he told MS NOW’s Alicia Menendez on Thursday.
In the run-up to the midterms, several Republicans facing competitive elections, including Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, Florida Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar and Texas Rep. Monica De La Cruz, have appeared to shift their tone on immigration, publicly breaking with the president on what was once one of his most popular issues.
In a post on X, Marshall criticized how immigration operations were playing out in his state.
“When ICE operates in Kansas, it needs to coordinate with our local law enforcement. Our sheriffs and police know these communities better than anyone, and working together keeps officers and residents safe,” he wrote.
“It’s taken far too long for them to come around, because we’ve been screaming it for well more than a year,” Padilla said.
The California Democrat urged his fellow lawmakers to do more than alter their rhetoric.
“If they’re genuine about this change in position, don’t just issue a statement or post on social media,” he said. “Join our legislation.”
Padilla pointed to several Democratic-led measures that Republicans could support, including legislation to require ICE agents to identify themselves during enforcement operations, obtain judicial warrants for detentions and use body cameras.
“Join our legislation that requires ICE agents to identify themselves and not come out of unmarked cars, covered up with masks and no identifying elements of their uniform,” he said. “Join our legislation that requires judicial warrants signed by a judge for any of these detentions.”
Padilla said it was up to Republicans to show their break with Trump amounts to more than campaign season messaging.
“So again, for candidates who are maybe worried about their election prospects in a few weeks, if you’re genuine, then join our efforts to rein this administration in and hold them accountable,” he told Menendez.
You can watch Padilla’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
The post Democrat challenges GOP colleagues on ICE: ‘Join our legislation’ appeared first on MS NOW.
