U.S. Senator Alex Padilla joined Inside California Politics for a special 30-minute town hall over the weekend to discuss federal COVID-19 relief, immigration and a range of other topics.
Padilla, who was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill a seat vacated by Vice President Kamala Harris, criticized the effort to recall the governor, calling it “offensive and hypocritical.”
The senator also spoke about the situation at the U.S. border with Mexico, where a huge increase in the number of families and children traveling alone has severely strained holding facilities.
“It was wrong to rescind the opportunities for these individuals, and in some cases, families, to apply for asylum from their native countries,” the senator said.
Padilla’s first bill in the Senate would provide a pathway to citizenship for essential workers. “They have earned protection, peace of mind and a pathway to citizenship,” he said.
The senator also discussed gun control, student loan debt cancellation and so-called COVID-19 “vaccine passports.” This segment aired on Inside California Politics on April 11, 2021.
