KMPH: Sen. Alex Padilla slams Trump Administration over DACA deportation threats
By Adjoa Aikins
Senator Alex Padilla is calling out the Trump Administration over what he describes as a baseless attack on recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Speaking from the Senate floor Tuesday night, Padilla criticized recent comments by the Department of Homeland Security suggesting that DACA recipients are not automatically protected from deportation.
The California Democrat described the statement as “cruel and misleading,” and accused the Administration of targeting immigrants who’ve lived, studied and worked legally in the U.S. since 2012.
Padilla shared the story of Javier Diaz Santana, a 32-year-old deaf DACA recipient who was arrested by armed immigration agents while working at a Temple City car wash.
Despite having no criminal record and living in the U.S. since the age of five, Santana was transported to El Paso, Texas, where he faced possible deportation.
“These are young people who were brought here as children,” Padilla said. “They’ve gone to school here, worked here, and contributed to our communities — and now they’re being told to self-deport.”
Padilla accused the Administration of prioritizing political theater over public safety by arresting DACA recipients and other immigrants with legal protections instead of focusing on violent criminals.
He urged Senate Republicans to support the Dream Act, which would offer a pathway to permanent legal status for undocumented youth.
“This mass detention and deportation operation will go down as a stain in our nation’s history,” Padilla said. “Americans won’t forget what’s being done to their neighbors and coworkers.”
Padilla, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, is also backing legislation to expand legal residency opportunities for long-term undocumented immigrants.
The senator’s remarks come as federal immigration raids intensify in cities like Los Angeles, raising fears among immigrant communities and drawing renewed calls for immigration reform on Capitol Hill.
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