America seems headed to an angry and ugly place. Inflammatory incidents, rhetoric and dissent unleashed by President Donald Trump’s tough immigration crackdown are inexorably building political pressure as a polarized nation barrels into the heat of summer.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., has continued to defend himself and refute the claims by the Trump administration that he crashed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference before federal officers shoved him outside the room, pushed him onto the floor and handcuffed him.

The incident occurred amid heightened political tensions nationwide, including protests against federal immigration authorities over aggressive sweeps of migrants and immigrants, and deportations.

The sweeps have fueled six days of protests resulting in hundreds of arrests in Los Angeles while demonstrations have spread across the nation.

"There is no justification for the disgusting way Senator Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed by FBI agents today."

The Padilla incident, then, represents a continuation of the muddied discourse over the Trump administration’s immigration policy. “We want to get the full scope of what happened,” Senate ...

Alex Padilla (D., Calif ... Noem and others were addressing immigration raids and the federal response to protests that have spread across the city, saying they would forge ahead with their ...