Democrats believe they’ve found a compelling new message on immigration — thanks to a viral image of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) in handcuffs.
Padilla, who was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference about ICE raids in California, earned support from fellow Democrats and triggered outrage over what they see as the administration’s overreach.
“If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post on X.
It’s a snappier paraphrase of Padilla’s own words: “If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question. If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question,” he said at a hastily organized press conference Thursday afternoon. “You can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country.”
Immigration has long vexed Democrats, who face an enormous deficit of public trust on the issue, but now they think they’ve found a way forward. Padilla, a mild-mannered first-term senator, has become the embodiment of the new message from Democrats, who are not arguing whether deportations should be carried out but take issue with the reckless way they’re being done. And they’re enraged at the administration’s effort to tamp down on protests, which Democrats say is unlawful and inciting chaos.
“When people talk about rising to the moment in history, it is a sitting U.S. senator putting his body on the line to highlight injustice in our country,” said Kristian Ramos, a Democratic strategist who worked on immigration issues for more than a decade. “It underlines the fact that the Republican Party and Donald Trump do not care about laws in this country.”
On Capitol Hill, Democratic members, led by the Hispanic Caucus, marched to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s offices to demand that Noem testify before Congress about the incident.
Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Wes Moore of Maryland, both of whom are considered presidential contenders in 2028, took to social media to express similar sentiments.
“This is Donald Trump’s America, where they attack our freedoms,” Pritzker wrote. “We cannot be intimidated or scared by their abuses of power.”
Moore added: “The weaponization of our justice system and the normalization of political violence is unacceptable.”
It was a unifying moment around a singular message for the party, which so far has struggled to succinctly push back on Trump.
A number of Democrats quickly used the incident to fundraise, too.
“All Alex was trying to do was ask a question and do his job of oversight,” read one email from the campaign of Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who asked supporters to split donations between his campaign and Padilla’s.
“There can be no justification for this,” said a subject line from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
“What happened to Senator Alex Padilla this afternoon is appalling,” read a message from Shenna Bellows, a Democrat running for governor in Maine.
Still, even as Democrats saw a clear opportunity to change the tone on immigration, Republicans cast Democrats as the ones welcoming the chaos.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, sought to cast Padilla as the agitator, saying he was “shoving law enforcement officers” to get his way back to Noem’s attention, adding, “Incredibly aggressive behavior for a sitting U.S. senator.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) accused Padilla of enacting a political stunt, telling reporters Thursday he “got what he wanted, he’s on TV.” Others pointed out Padilla was not wearing his Senate pin, though he verbally identified himself a senator.
Johnson told reporters that “at a minimum” Padilla’s behavior “rises to the level of a censure.”
Other Republicans compared Thursday’s incident to other recent actions from Democrats — including Rep. LaMonica McIver’s recent indictment — as proof the party is out of control.
“Democrat officials and their staffers are growing increasingly radical and extreme,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson, in a statement to POLITICO. “It’s alarming they think they can obstruct federal law enforcement or physically push officers while charging a cabinet secretary without consequence.”
Democrats are banking on the idea that the Padilla incident can change the conversation on LA unrest, even as protests are planned across the country this weekend to coincide with Trump’s planned military parade.
“When the government overreaches like this in such a blatant manner, it allows for us to have a conversation with lots of people who may not be political observers,” said Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, which is organizing the “No Kings” demonstrations Saturday in 1,800 locations nationwide.
Mitchell pointed out that the Trump administration has already detained a Democratic mayor in New Jersey, arrested a judge in Wisconsin and indicted a Democratic congressmember in his effort to intimidate those who question the legality of his immigration actions.
“Think about what they might do to you, if you’re on their shit list,” he said.
Jessica Piper and Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing contributed to this report.
