Now the senior U.S. senator from California, Alex Padilla’s career in public service started amid intense fervor over immigration in the early 1990s. Now, it comes full circle.

California’s U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials Thursday morning.

Video shows a Secret Service special agent on Noem's detail grabbing Padilla by his jacket and shoving him from the room, as the senator struggles to catch his breath while identifying himself.

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

California Sen. Alex Padilla was chucked out of a Los Angeles news briefing as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem discussed the ongoing anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots that have engulfed the city — before being thrown to the ground and handcuffed.

The senator is known on Capitol Hill for being kind and nerdy. His forcible removal from a news conference resonated as a call to action among Democrats.

Hours after senior U.S. Senator Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed from a press briefing with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, House Democrats roamed the Capitol seeking an audience with GOP leadership.