U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, who serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, criticized the Trump Administration’s recent immigration enforcement actions in Chicago and the deployment of Texas National Guard troops to Illinois. Durbin’s remarks came during an executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In his opening statement, Durbin questioned how Republican colleagues would respond if a Democratic president took similar actions in their states. “To my Republican colleagues, how would you react if a Democratic President deployed the National Guard… to your state, over the objections of your governor? Imagine masked Border Patrol agents in military tactical gear marching through your state’s largest city, as a top Border Patrol official bragged that agents were arresting people based on ‘how they look.’ Imagine if federal agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter to swarm an apartment building in your state… breaking down doors, yanking people out of bed, zip-tying and detaining U.S. citizens—your constituents, including children—for hours—and including American citizens. Imagine if federal agents pointed an assault rifle at one of your constituents simply taking a picture… if they fired pepper balls at a minister who was praying on the street and a reporter who was simply driving past a protest site, doing her job. Imagine if they teargassed not just peaceful protestors in your community, but local law enforcement.”
Durbin described recent events in Illinois as an “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful abuse of power.” He stated: “This is the reality in my home state of Illinois in this moment. Let me be clear—what is happening in Illinois is an unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful abuse of power that should offend all of us.”
He also argued that President Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard disregards constitutional principles related to federalism. “In deploying the National Guard to Illinois, President Trump has disregarded our Constitution’s system of federalism, embodied in the Tenth Amendment, which reserves powers to the states that are not expressly delegated the federal government. That used to be a common concern from the other side, now silence. Chicago does not need to be ‘saved,’ as Kash Patel claimed in a tweet yesterday. We need the federal government to stop engaging in political theater and baselessly, recklessly escalating the situation in Illinois.”
Durbin addressed Attorney General Pam Bondi’s conduct during a recent oversight hearing before the committee. He recounted his attempt to ask about legal justification for sending troops: “I asked the Attorney General a simple question: what is the legal basis for the deployment of the National Guard in Illinois? … She refused to answer. Instead, she launched irrelevant and baseless personal attacks against me. The Attorney General’s stonewalling in response to the most basic oversight questions was not limited to me. Instead of answers, she responded to legitimate questions with prepared attacks and smears for Democratic Senators.”
He further commented on what he sees as disrespect toward congressional oversight authority: “None of my Republican colleagues would ever accept such contempt from a Democratic administration. I’ve been a member of the Judiciary Committee for more than 20 years. Never have I encountered a witness from any other administration—Democratic or Republican—respond to legitimate questions with these types of personal attacks. This Administration is trampling over the separation of powers. Do we hear anything from the other side of the dais? We cannot allow the disrespect the Attorney General has shown for this Committee’s constitutional oversight authority to continue.”
Durbin ended by urging bipartisan cooperation on oversight matters: “Chairman Grassley, I urge you to work with us to press this Administration to provide substantive answers to our legitimate oversight questions, as I did for you and our Republican colleagues when I was Chair.”
Video footage and audio recordings of Durbin’s statement are available online.
