Democrats remained seated on Tuesday when President Donald Trump gave them to chance to stand in solidarity with U.S. citizens over illegal immigrants.
Trump asked all members of Congress who agree with the statement, “The duty of the American government is to protect Americans citizens, not illegal aliens,” to stand. He then rebuked the Democratic lawmakers remained seated for two whole minutes.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, not standing up,” Trump said. “You should be ashamed of yourself. That is why I’m also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of illegal aliens, in some cases drug lords, murderers all over the country. They’re blocking the removal of these people out of our country, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Many Democrats did not stand up in support of the families of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray — who were both murdered by illegal immigrants under former President Joe Biden’s administration — at Trump’s joint session speech in March 2025.
READ: Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Demands Texas Rep. Gonzales Resign After Staffer Tragedy
In January 2025, 159 Democrats voted against the Laken Riley Act, a law that requires federal immigration enforcement to detain illegal immigrants who commit theft-related crimes.
Democrats have repeatedly condemned Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and have even supported abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Several Democratic mayors, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, pledged to keep their sanctuary city policies in place to retaliate against the surge in arrests of criminal illegal aliens.
Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on ICE to “get the fuck out” of his city following the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent after she hit him with her car. When the administration sent additional agents to Minnesota, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz compared the situation to the Nazis’ occupation of the Netherlands during Anne Frank’s time.
Democrats caused the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to face a partial shutdown in February since they refused to get behind a funding agreement.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
