Longtime Republican strategist Sarah Longwell urged sitting senators in her party to defend Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), who was handcuffed and forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The handcuffing of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) raises the stakes for future clashes between Democrats and the administration as acts of protest have been met with swift law enforcement action. Democrats have vowed to continue their pressure campaign on the administration over its immigration policies,

Sen. Alex Padilla disputed the White House’s account of the events surrounding his forcible removal from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday in Los Angeles, pus