Transcript: Trump Press Sec Drops Dark Hint about Coming Crackdowns
Jayapal: Well, this is going to be about the broader protections and the use of this provision and the problems with the use of this provision. I really do hope that we can get every Democrat to sign it. And perhaps there are some Republicans who are willing to speak out for free speech rights, I’m not sure. I do think it’s important to make it clear: This is not about a particular foreign policy viewpoint. This is about the right to be able to have free speech.
Sargent: Obviously, Democrats run the minority in the House and Senate, but can’t they do more going forward to try and exercise a little oversight here? This seems to me to be a really legitimate area where you could ask some very hard questions of the administration. For instance, have they produced an actual written rationale to Congress explaining the decision to arrest and deport Khalil? Could Democrats do more? Are you hoping to do more? Are you hoping House Democratic leaders and Senate Democratic leaders will do more to pressure the administration to be transparent about these policies?
Jayapal: I think they’re pretty transparent. That video clip you played makes it pretty clear to me what they’re doing, so I think we have to just stand up against that. I know what they’re going to say. They’re going to say, Oh, we’re trying to protect America’s foreign policy. They’re going to, once again, do the broad-brush of calling immigrants “criminals” and “terrorists” and all of those things that they’ve been doing for so long. To me, that’s what we have to continue to stand up for. On the immigration front, I’m working on that because, as you know, I thought Laken Riley was horrific. I’m so disappointed that so many Democrats gave into that and we’re working to build a unified, humane response to immigration that recognizes that both border security and modernizing the immigration system are critical. In fact, you can’t have one without the other because unless you have legal pathways for people to come in, the border is not going to be secure.
