[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 135 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4602-S4603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Remembering John Lewis

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, today our colleague John Lewis will be 
laid to rest. What an incredible legacy he leaves behind.
  I was blessed to serve with him in the House of Representatives. The 
two of us were elected in the same class to start serving in the House 
of Representatives in 1987. We became friends, and he was certainly an 
inspiration to all of us.
  I particularly mention his name today because of the challenges we 
are finding to our First Amendment right to peacefully protest. John 
Lewis frequently talked about ``good trouble'' and that all of us have 
a responsibility to speak out when we see something that is wrong and 
to do it in a peaceful way.
  It is interesting that his last public appearance was with the 
protesters of Black Lives Matter here in DC, as he wanted to be there 
and was proud to see the diversity of the group who was there to 
protest the brutalities that we have seen in America and the systemic 
racism we see in our country.
  We not only have the right but the responsibility to speak out when 
we see these injustices. The First Amendment to our Nation's 
Constitution is key to the foundation of our country's democracy, 
including the right of people to peacefully assemble and petition for 
redress of grievances.
  The President of the United States ordering unidentified agents of 
the Department of Homeland Security to arrest and detain protesters is 
a flagrant breach of trust and potentially a violation of the law. 
Congress must speak up in a unified, bipartisan voice and tell the 
President that such an escalation and militarization of our city 
streets without provocation or invitation from local officials must 
stop and must stop now.
  I am gravely concerned that when Federal law enforcement agents are 
deployed in this manner, their presence has increased tensions and 
caused more confrontation between demonstrators and police. Indeed, 
local, State, and even Federal officials--including the U.S. Attorney--
have criticized the Federal agents' intervention and tactics in 
Portland.
  I share the concerns of many of my colleagues regarding the misuse of 
resources and personnel, particularly when Federal law enforcement 
officers are used for political purposes by the President to violate 
the civil rights of our constituents. We all should be concerned that 
both the Justice and Homeland Security Departments are misusing their 
emergency authorities and are actually aggravating the situation in 
Portland and elsewhere.
  I have cosponsored legislation that would place important limits and 
oversight on the use of Federal officers for enforcement operations and 
arrests relating to protests, including making sure that law 
enforcement officers are clearly identified.
  I recently voted in the Senate to place further limits on the 
transfer of excess military equipment to State and local law 
enforcement agencies, and I will continue to demand that America reform 
its Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies.
  After the shocking death of George Floyd in police custody in 
Minneapolis, Congress must address systemic racism and police brutality 
through passage of the Justice in Policing Act. While this legislation 
has passed the House, Senator McConnell has still refused to bring it 
up in the Senate, condemning it to his legislative graveyard.
  Now more than ever, we urgently need to rebuild trust with our 
communities and change the Trump administration's mentality from a 
warrior to a guardian approach for law enforcement.
  News reports indicate that Federal law enforcement officers have been 
using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland and detain 
protesters since at least mid-July. In some cases, citizens could not 
tell the difference between law enforcement and far-right extremists in 
the region who wore similar military gear.
  This reminds us of the most radical images that we have seen in 
authoritative, repressive regimes on how they violate the rights of 
their citizens.
  Federal officials have been reported as grabbing Americans in the 
dark, not providing any form of identification, and arresting, 
searching, and detaining individuals in cells before properly reading 
their Miranda rights. There are widespread reports of Federal agents 
not having any probable cause before making these arrests.
  Not only are these actions irresponsible and dangerous, it is a 
violation of our constitutional rights. America's strength is in the 
ideals that we believe in. We are the global leader in democratic 
values and the rule of law. These actions weaken our Nation, and these 
actions weaken America's credibility and global leadership on behalf of 
democratic values.
  I am pleased that last week the inspectors general of the Department 
of Homeland Security and Justice agreed to investigate how their agents 
used force, detained people, and conducted themselves in confrontations 
with protesters both in Portland, OR, and Washington, DC.
  Recall in Washington, DC, that Attorney General Barr used force to 
clear a peaceful protest at Lafayette Park just outside the White 
House. Attorney General Barr took this action so that the President 
could hold up a Bible for a photo-op outside of a church. This was an 
unacceptable breach of faith in the Constitution. It breaks the trust

[[Page S4603]]

between our law enforcement and our citizens.
  Defending democracy and the rule of law--the very freedoms we as a 
nation hold so dear--is hard work. It is made harder when the very 
individuals sworn to uphold the law work so hard to undermine it.
  The Justice Department is the only Cabinet agency named after an 
ideal, and Mr. Barr has forfeited his ability to effectively lead it.
  In particular, the Justice Department inspector general will 
investigate how U.S. marshals have used force in Portland and how other 
parts of the Justice Department--such as the FBI, Drug Enforcement 
Administration, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
Explosives--were used in the Nation's Capital.
  The inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security has said 
he opened an investigation into allegations that Customs and Border 
Protection agents improperly detained and transported protesters in 
Portland and that he would review the deployment of DHS's personnel in 
recent weeks.
  America is not under siege, as the President would like citizens to 
believe--except by a President who freely uses aggressive law 
enforcement as a prop to distract the country from his flailing 
response to the pandemic that has crippled our Nation. Citizens are 
rightly concerned that the administration has deployed a secret police 
force, not to investigate crimes but to intimidate individuals it views 
as political adversaries.
  Several former Secretaries of Homeland Security have sounded the 
alarm as well. Michael Chertoff, a Secretary of Homeland Security under 
George W. Bush, wrote recently:

       The Trump administration's deliberate decision to intervene 
     in the Portland protests with a heavy hand, unconventional 
     means and inflammatory political rhetoric has contributed to 
     growing public distrust--particularly of the Department of 
     Homeland Security.
       Critics of the department are now rightly worried that its 
     law enforcement agents might be increasingly deployed by 
     President Trump to score political points, or even interfere 
     with the November election.

  Secretary Chertoff concluded:

       These actions, now or into the future, endanger our 
     democracy and undermine the nation's safety--by hurting the 
     department's ability to carry out its core mission of 
     protecting Americans from genuine threats to our security.

  Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of Homeland Security after its 
creation, said that the presence of Federal authorities in Portland, 
OR, as protests continue in the city, is not consistent with the 
Department of Homeland Security's mission. He noted that the first 
words of the Department's vision statement that he helped establish are 
``preserving our freedoms.''
  Secretary Ridge continued:

       When they appear to be quasi-military rather than law 
     enforcement, I think it's like pouring a little bit of 
     gasoline on the fire. . . . Preserving the right to dissent 
     is something very important.

  Now, I know President Trump has threatened to send additional Federal 
officers to Baltimore and other cities to quell any further dissent or 
protests. Let me remind President Trump that the protests in Baltimore 
after the death of George Floyd in police custody have been peaceful, 
so we don't need additional Federal agents designed to crack down on 
free speech and peaceful protests, nor do we want Federal agents to 
come to Baltimore with the purpose of escalating tensions with the 
community or trying to provoke or incite violence or to discourage the 
lawful right of citizens exercising their First Amendment.
  Instead, in Baltimore, we want to continue working cooperatively with 
our Federal partners, like our U.S. attorney, to address the stubborn 
problems involving drug gangs and the high violent crime and murder 
rate. Ensuring the safety of our communities requires an all-hands-on-
deck approach. In Baltimore, we are using a task force known as the 
Baltimore Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Strike Force, 
which is made up of local, State, and Federal partners. This task force 
only works due to continued transparency, collaboration, and engagement 
with the community throughout this process.
  Together, the citizens of Baltimore will keep working with our law 
enforcement authorities to improve safety in our neighborhoods and on 
our streets. The city of Baltimore and the U.S. Department of Justice 
are continuing to work closely together, along with our U.S. District 
Court for the District of Maryland, to fully implement a consent decree 
to bring constitutional policing to Baltimore residents so that the 
police adopt a guardian instead of a warrior approach.
  Instead of spreading divisive rhetoric and taking escalatory actions 
against our citizens--tactics recently employed by President Trump--we 
should focus on working constructively at the Federal, State, and local 
level to promote proven strategies and solutions--like the strike 
force--that effectively reduce crime and improve safety.
  I look forward to the findings and recommendations of the inspectors 
general of those two Departments to make clear what went wrong and to 
take steps to make sure this type of Federal law enforcement authority 
is never abused again in the future.
  I would hope that all my colleagues would recognize the threat of 
these actions to the protections in the First Amendment of our 
Constitution, and we will work together as one body to protect the 
lawful rights of our citizens to protest their disagreements with 
government in a peaceful way.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Scott of Florida). The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.