Democratic senator calls out party ‘bull—-‘ for caving to ‘secure the border’ talk

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., called out what he described as “bull—-” from the Democratic Party in their support for securing the border.

Padilla criticized his party on the “Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know” podcast Wednesday for abandoning its goal of providing citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants in favor of pushing the “secure the border” message popularized by President Donald Trump.

“Do you ever feel alienated in this fight by your own party?” Minhaj asked. “Because you’re keeping the agenda on that path, and it feels like, and I’ve been watching a lot of the podcasts and TV appearances from some of your Democratic colleagues, they keep going towards the ‘Secure the border. Secure the border. Secure the border.’ Do you feel alienated by this?”

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Sen. Alex Padilla speaks during a press conference at the Federal Building on Wilshire Blvd on Thursday, June 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“I’m not going to lie,” Padilla said. “At times, yes. But when I recognize that, that’s my impetus. That’s my motivation. That’s my purpose in those moments. And calling it out like it is, right?”

He continued, “I’m not afraid to talk to Democrats and say, ‘Hey, when it comes to issues like reproductive rights, we’re all pro-choice. We don’t budge. We don’t negotiate.’ You know, that’s a given. Or when it comes to equality. Oh, we’re Democrats. We’re united. We don’t budge. We don’t negotiate. We don’t waver on that. When it comes to voting rights, when it comes to labor rights, when we come to climate change is real, that’s all firm. But when it comes to immigration, ‘oh well, I don’t know. But see, in my state, you know, the polls say this.’ Like, that’s bull—-. That’s bull—-.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Padilla’s office for additional comment.

US Senator Alex Padilla, Democrat from California, made headlines after being removed after interrupting a news conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles on June 12, 2025. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Padilla made headlines in June after he was briefly detained for rushing a press conference with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.

Months later, Padilla introduced the “Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929” bill, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who have lived in the country for seven years with no criminal record.

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“What tends to get lost in the conversation are the millions of people who not just are here in the United States, who have been here in the United States for years if not decades, paying taxes, raising families, otherwise law-abiding, no criminal conviction or history,” Padilla told Stephen Colbert in August.

Democratic leaders have conceded in recent months that the Trump administration has successfully secured the border. (Getty Images)

In the year since President Donald Trump’s re-election, many top Democratic lawmakers have conceded that the Trump administration was successful in securing the border where their party failed.

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“The border is secure. That‘s a good thing. It‘s happened on his watch. He wants to claim credit for it. Of course, he‘ll get credit for that,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said last week. “In terms of making sure that we actually deal with the issues that matter, including on immigration or beyond, there’s a lot that is left to be desired.”