California Sen. Alex Padilla sat down with NBC Bay Area on Friday for a discussion covering a wide range of topics. Padilla, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and fellow alumni are fanning across the country this weekend to talk to students about higher education. On Friday , he was in Soledad, discussing everything from immigration to tariffs to President Donald Trump. In the heart of California’s agriculture country, Padilla encouraged the children of mostly farmworkers at Soledad High School to go to college. “Inspire them about getting a good education, going on to college if they can, dreaming big and pursuing those dreams,” he said. After his talk, NBC Bay Area asked Padilla about the Supreme Court decision striking down the so-called Trump tariffs. “Not to say we told you so, but from the very beginning a lot of members of Congress were clear that the president did not have these authorities, this tariff policy, which first of all was hurting the economy, costing working families more in their bills, but was unlawful from the beginning,” he said. Trump Administration 7 hours ago What happens next after the Supreme Court slapped down Trump's tariffs Trump Administration 6 hours ago Trump calls Supreme Court justices ‘disloyal to the Constitution' over tariffs ruling Supreme Court 11 hours ago Supreme Court strikes down Trump's sweeping tariffs, upending one of his key policies Padilla also discussed the partial government shutdown and the Democratic Party’s push to drastically alter funding to the Department of Homeland Security. “It’s real simple: the Republicans who are in the majority can either choose to keep the shutdown going – that’s their choice – or work with us to try to get some basic, common sense changes to how ICE and CBP are conducting these immigration enforcement operations,” he said. Padilla caught national attention last year when he was taken to the ground by federal agents at a Kristi Noem news conference. Padilla said he’s not surprised similar images have emerged in ICE operations in Chicago and Minneapolis. “I came back to Washington the following weekend, warned my colleagues this was a playbook that the Trump administration was beginning in Los Angeles but could be taken to anywhere in the country. I didn’t want to be right,” he said. NBC Bay Area also asked Padilla about being named to give the Spanish response to Tuesday’s State of the Union address. “We’ll see what Donald Trump may have to say,” Padilla said. “I can predict that it’s going to be full of either exaggerations or outright lies. So I’m relishing the opportunity to respond to his address.” ...read more read less