A Democratic senator who was questioning deportations was restrained and handcuffed.

SPECIAL ENVOY TO LOS ANGELESDuring a press conference by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem regarding the Los Angeles riots, Democratic Senator Alex Padilla from California was forced to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents. The aggressive treatment of Padilla, who tried to question Noem about the actions of immigration agents in Los Angeles, is the latest chapter in the escalating tensions between the Trump administration and Democratic representatives from California. The scene comes amid protests against the actions of ICE (the acronym used by immigration agents) spreading across the country.

Images of Padilla have sparked outrage among Democrats. California Governor Gavin Newsom shared a photograph of Padilla lying on the ground with federal agents handcuffing him. "If they can handcuff a US Senator to ask questions, imagine what they'll do to you," he wrote to X. Since Trump militarized Los Angeles, tensions between the two politicians have been rising. On Tuesday, in a televised address, Newsom warned that the Republican's actions are "an attack" on American democracy.

"California may be the first, but it certainly won't end there," the governor said, adding to criticism that Trump is turning Los Angeles into a laboratory for how to deploy military forces on the sanctuary cities.

The aggressive intervention against Padilla comes at a time when the Trump administration has already sent some 4,000 National Guardsmen to Los Angeles. The 700 marinas which has also been earmarked should arrive soon, according to the government. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has deployed more than 5,000 National Guard troops and more than 2,000 Texas Department of Public Safety officers to control anti-ICE protests in his state.

Padilla later released a statement explaining the events. "I went to Secretary Noem's press conference hoping to get some answers [about sending troops to Los Angeles]. After identifying myself and trying to ask questions, I was aggressively removed from the room, laid on the floor, and handcuffed," the senator explained.

For her part, Noem justified the actions of the federal agents, asserting that their attempt to intervene "was not appropriate." "After interrupting our press conference with law enforcement, I met with Senator Padilla for 15 minutes," the Secretary of Homeland Security said. During the appearance in question, Noem has once again attacked migrants and has insisted on the message that those without legal status must leave: "Our message to illegal immigrants is clear: leave now. [...]. Self-deportation is the best, safest, and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid being arrested and deported." In parallel with Noem's words, the Trump administration has opened a hotline to report undocumented migrants under the name "denounce the foreign invader."

Shortly after, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass demanded that ICE agents leave her city. "I've worked with the secretary for probably about 10 years in Congress. And, Madam Secretary, I don't recognize you. I don't recognize Kristi Noem, who I worked with," Bass said in an appearance Thursday. Leaders from more than 30 cities across the Los Angeles area already called on President Trump on Wednesday to halt the immigration raids that have terrorized their communities. In the city of Downey, in South Los Angeles, ICE made arrests at two churches on Wednesday..

Judicial attempt to remove soldiers from Los Angeles

This Thursday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Donald Trump had illegally seized control of the National Guard by sending it to Los Angeles against the will of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and ordered the president to return control of the military force to the state. But just hours after issuing the ruling, an appeals court temporarily blocked it. So, at least until Tuesday, the Republican will be able to continue militarizing the city.

Justice Charles Breyer ruled that Trump's decision to seize control of the National Guard violates the constitutional principle of states' rights. "It is not for the federal government, within our constitutional system, to assume the police power of a state whenever it is dissatisfied with the speed or firmness with which the state enforces its own laws," he explains. "On the contrary, the Founders reserved that power, among others, to the states." The National Guard falls under the jurisdiction of the states and, in theory, can be federalized only in very extreme cases. The president sent 4,000 troops to deter protests against aggressive immigration raids in the city.

The way Trump has used his executive power to deploy the military in Los Angeles was at the center of the judge's ruling, which did not find that California met any of the conditions that Congress sets for federalizing the National Guard: invasion, rebellion, or collapse of law enforcement.

"The protests in Los Angeles are far from being a rebellion," the judge emphasized. "The right of people to protest against the government is one of the fundamental rights protected by the First Amendment, and the fact that a few isolated individuals crossed the line does not negate that right for everyone." Beyond sending the National Guard and 700 marinas, Trump had left the door open to invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act to send more troops to the city. All under the narrative that the Republican government has created around protests that in recent days have ended practically without incident.

Attorney Brett Shumate, who represented the Trump administration during Thursday's hearing, argued that the courts have no power to question the president's decisions regarding the National Guard troops and the marinas that Trump has sent, despite the objections of state and local officials. Shumate said the military units had been limited to protecting federal buildings and personnel, a task not restricted by the Posse Comitatus law, which prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. In recent days, the National Guard has not only guarded federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles, but has also begun accompanying immigration agents on raids, ostensibly to protect them.

"The president is, of course, subject to the limits of his authority. That's the difference between a constitutional government and King George," the judge says in his ruling. "It's not just that a leader says something and it automatically becomes true," he notes. The comparison to a monarch comes just two days before nationwide protests against the Trump administration under the banner "No Kings Day(Day without a king).

When the judge issued his ruling, Los Angeles was experiencing the seventh day of protests. The protesters, who went to the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Care Center, were stopped by troops from the Angeles National Guard. After the curfew, at eight in the evening, the crowd of protesters had already been dispersed by the police, who arrested at least eleven people for having broken the restriction.

Governor Newsom celebrated the court ruling on social media. "The court just confirmed what we all know, in the fields. This victory is not only for California, but for the entire country. It is a check on a man whose authoritarian tendencies increase day after day. Put an end now to the illegal militarization of Los Angeles, Trump," the Democrat wrote.