Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost (D) criticized the Trump administration for their deportation policies following national protests regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and removals.
“There is no legal process for people,” Frost said during a Thursday appearance on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
“We have ICE federal agents pulling up, terrorizing our communities, hopping out of unmarked vans, stealing and yes, kidnapping people, not giving them their day in court and yes, human trafficking them to other nations, other countries around the entire world,” he added.
His comments follow mass Los Angeles protests regarding ICE’s detainment of 44 individuals. Local lawmakers said detention centers were overflowing with immigrants who have not been given a court date while arrests increase, leaving those in custody to sleep outside in tents.
Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said drivers in the state would not be held liable if they hit protesters blocking roadways.
President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has also issued stronger deportation policies pledging to crack down on “worksite enforcement” on Thursday and detaining illegal immigrants while on the job.
The Trump administration also resumed immigration efforts at farms and hotels this week after previously pausing operations due to business owners’ concerns about staffing shortages.
Federal judges have recently blocked the White House’s efforts to remove immigrants to places outside of their country of origin including Libya and Saudi Arabia.
Frost said immigration efforts are now “outside the bounds of the law” and fall well beyond the scope of mass deportation as the president promoted on the 2024 campaign trail.
“Due process is something that applies to every person in this country, regardless of your status,” the Florida lawmaker said.
“So this is from the party that likes to talk a lot about the American exceptionalism, but they want to rip away the few things that make our country actually exceptional. And part of that is the fact that our rights are for everybody,” he added.