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Floor Speech
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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I join my colleagues who have spoken. I say that, really, my heart goes out to my colleagues from Minnesota-- the senior and junior Senators from Minnesota--and the people of Minnesota for what they have been through in these last few weeks and how they have responded in these last few weeks as they have mourned and as the country has been watching.
January 7 feels like so long ago now, but just a few weeks ago is the day that I never would have imagined. That day, Renee Nicole Good--a mother, a daughter, a poet--was out in her community, observing, helping to document, as allowed by the law, what was happening when she was alerted about these ongoing, indiscriminate raids in her community.
As several of my colleagues have said, the administration's response to the Federal agent's killing of Renee Good was not one of ``well, hold on; let's really assess what has happened here.''
It was one of blaming her. The response was so faulty by the administration. Forget the investigations that should have taken place--I will talk about that in a minute--but the President of the United States and the Vice President of the United States responded to an incident like that by messaging to Federal agents: Don't worry. You have complete immunity.
First of all, that is not true. Second of all, it is the opposite of the message that we should be sending if we are trying to deescalate tensions and make sure that law enforcement abides by the law.
I remind us of that because, sadly, it is not shocking when we reflect on what happened on January 24. This time, Alex Jeffrey Pretti--a son and an ICU nurse at the local Veterans' Administration hospital--was out, lawfully and peacefully observing and helping to document more of this ICE and CBP activity in Minneapolis when he was shot in the back and killed--two U.S. citizens dead at the hands of Federal law enforcement in the span of 2\1/2\ weeks. They are dead because ICE and the CBP have been encouraged by the White House to act with impunity.
Colleagues, it was about 7 months ago that I stood here on the floor to warn all of you and the American people that the Trump administration, at the time--so this goes back to last June--that the Trump administration was using Los Angeles as a test case. It was testing how far Federal agents could go in this indiscriminate, increasingly violent, and cruel mass detention and deportation agenda; how far they could go before exporting this model throughout the country.
I never in my life have wanted to say more than I do today that I wish I were wrong, but for the better part of the last year, communities across the country have been subjected to this relentless aggression--Los Angeles; Washington, DC; Chicago; Portland; Charlotte; others; and now Minneapolis. You have seen the videos. I have seen the videos. We have all seen the videos. How dare this administration slander the names of the dead and tell the American people not to believe what we can all see so clearly with our own eyes? How dare this administration act as if the laws passed by this body do not apply to them?
So, yes, colleagues, it is time to say: Enough. This is not just about immigrant families and immigrant communities now living in fear. This is about all of us. No one in this country--immigrant, citizen, veteran--should fear for their lives for exercising their constitutional rights, for standing up for their neighbors. This is not a political or a policy disagreement about immigration. This is about decency. This is about humanity. And this is about the rule of law.
Instead of pursuing independent investigations and seeking to hold officers accountable as warranted, this administration has doubled down.
Let's take a moment on this because our colleague Senator Kaine from Virginia talked a little bit about his experience as Governor and mayor and what normally happens after an officer-involved shooting--normal practice, standard practice, best practices after an officer-involved shooting in a local agency, in a State agency. It is not just the officer's being placed on leave. Initially, there is an administrative review of what happened.
Was it not just consistent with policy but with the law and the Constitution? And, if not, what is the consequence?
Absent that, under normal circumstances, we have the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice that can conduct an independent investigation and bring forth accountability as and when warranted.
Sadly, that is not the case with this administration--not the objective, internal review; not the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice review. Instead, they tell officers, ``You have complete immunity,'' and they double down. So the abuse has continued.
By the way, it is not just on the streets. The videos you have not seen are of the abuse and inhumane treatment that continue inside some appalling and inhumane private detention facilities, where, colleagues, if you haven't heard, 32 detainees died last year--the most deadly year for those in ICE detention facilities in a long, long time. An additional six this month alone are already on track to exceed last year's most deadly number. I am talking about the people held in detention centers like the one that Senator Schiff and I visited just last week in California City. Many there are being denied basic medical care, even urgent medical care. People are being denied easy access to legal counsel, to due process, to fundamental dignity.
And how has the Republican majority in Congress responded to this cruel and vindictive mass deportation campaign? With silence-- inexcusable or unacceptable silence.
And for those who have not been silent, I have heard a cheering on of what the administration is doing.
Colleagues, since last July, there have been dozens of incidents involving excessive force by Federal agents, including at least 17 shootings. Instead of asking questions and demanding accountability, our Republican colleagues here have applauded the administration and chosen to give the Department of Homeland Security billions more dollars, and now they are suggesting that DHS needs even more.
How much more must our communities and our country endure before our Republican colleagues join us in saying ``Enough''?
How much more, colleagues, before you agree to impose the real guardrails on a DHS that chooses to investigate itself, that stonewalls oversight, that even fights court orders to preserve evidence in the killing of an American citizen?
Not destroying evidence should go without saying. It shouldn't be compelled by a Federal judge. It is just like having true, objective, independent investigations after incidents like this should go without saying.
But we are not living in normal times. We continue to see ICE and CBP behave as though they are above the law because this administration has told them they are and because Republicans in Congress have not told them that they are not.
But we have an opportunity to change that; to collectively, on a bipartisan and a bicameral basis, let those agents know that no one is above the law. It is not just an opportunity but an obligation that we have in this moment. Public safety depends on legitimacy, and legitimacy depends on accountability and speaking the truth. Our laws mean nothing if those who are assigned to enforce the laws believe that the laws don't apply to them.
So, colleagues, let's realize that we are not powerless in this conversation. Congress is an equal branch of government in the United States of America, and it is about time we acted like it. That is why I support imposing serious reforms and real oversight and accountability on ICE and the CBP before this body provides them any more taxpayer dollars.
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