Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., was shouted down after asking whether Republicans would agree to investigate the incident involving Padilla.
„I have a point of order,“ Frost said.
„State your point,“ replied Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the committee chair.
„We have to subpoena Secretary Noem,“ Frost said.
„That‘s not a point of order,“ Comer responded.
The hearing quickly devolved into lawmakers shouting over one another, with Comer at one point telling Frost to „shut up.“
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it “sickened my stomach — the manhandling of a United States Senator.” Padilla’s California colleague Adam Schiff called for an immediate investigation.
Several other Democrats were dropping the word “fascism” in conversations as they made their way out of the Capitol.
United States Attorney Bill Essayli stated on social media that federal law enforcement operations are “proceeding as planned this weekend in Los Angeles County” and advised that anyone who tries to interfere with their enforcement will be arrested and prosecuted.
Early Saturday afternoon, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem put out a similar warning.
(February 7, 2025)
Dear Secretary Noem, Secretary Hegseth, and Secretary Rubio:
We write on behalf of the undersigned immigrants‘ rights and civil rights organizations to request immediate access to the noncitizens transferred from immigration detention facilities in the United States and currently detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Since February 4, 2025, the government has transferred nearly two dozen noncitizens to Guantánamo, without providing any information about their circumstances or the government’s legal authority for these unprecedented actions. The government has also announced that it is planning to send tens of thousands of additional immigration detainees to Guantánamo in the near future.
The Constitution, and federal and international law prohibit the government from using Guantánamo as a legal black hole. We therefore request that the government provide our organizations access to the noncitizens detained at Guantánamo so that those individuals will have access to legal counsel, and so advocates and the public can understand the conditions
under which the government is detaining them. We also request basic information that the public has a right to know regarding the noncitizens being sent to Guantánamo and the government’s plans for them.
(…)
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union
Americans for Immigrant Justice
Amica Center
American Gateways
Center for Constitutional Rights
Haitian Bridge Alliance
Human Rights First
International Refugee Assistance Project
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Immigration Law Center
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Texas Civil Rights Project
Thousands of bikers are rolling into South Dakota this weekend for a motorcycle rally, perhaps the largest national public gathering since the pandemic started.
Attendees began their arrivals Friday for the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, estimated to have nearly 250,000 bikers out for festivities throughout the 10-day event.