The contours of California’s immigration resistance

Dec 05, 2024

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Immigration advocates hold signs at a rally.

California lawmakers are shoring up immigration legislation and funding ahead of Donald Trump's second term as president. | Haven Daley/AP

SHORING UP: California’s deportation-resistance agenda is starting to take shape in anticipation of Donald Trump’s presidency, as lawmakers propose legal-aid funding and new laws to shield undocumented residents from sweeping federal immigration enforcement.

The Legislature threw up numerous legal and logistical obstacles to large-scale deportations during Trump’s first term.

Now, as the president-elect again vows a sweeping crackdown, Democratic lawmakers are floating new ideas to prevent family separation and labor-force disruptions — consequences that Gov. Gavin Newsom warned about today in a news conference at the border.

“When you look at farm workers … roughly half are undocumented,” he said. “Close to 90 percent have been in the state for years and years and years. They're not going back and forth. Close to 60 percent have kids. The impacts of mass deportation on the cost of food in this state, in this nation, are off the charts.”

Here’s a rundown of California’s existing laws — and its latest proposals.

Isn’t California already a sanctuary state?

In 2017, then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed a raft of legislation designed to prevent deportations by limiting undocumented Californians’ exposure to federal immigration authorities.

The most substantial, and best-known, measure is SB 54, also known as California’s “sanctuary state” policy. It restricts local law enforcement from cooperating with immigration agents. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2020 declined to hear a challenge to the law, allowing it to remain in effect.

Brown also signed legislation preventing employers from allowing immigration enforcement in private workplace areas without a warrant and prohibiting landlords from sharing or threatening to share tenants’ immigration status, among other bills.

California has the biggest population of undocumented immigrants in the country, with 1.8 million as of 2022.

What other protections are lawmakers hoping to pass for undocumented immigrants?

As soon as the new legislative session kicked off on Monday, lawmakers began introducing immigration bills. Some policies have been attempted or in the works for some time, but they may take on more urgency now.

Legislation from Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to have a warrant and meet other requirements before entering school and child care facilities.

The push, he told Playbook, is an effort to prevent ICE officers from following undocumented parents to and from schools to arrest them — something that memorably happened in Los Angeles in 2017. (Former Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell introduced a proposal similar to Muratsuchi’s that year, but many provisions were removed).

Assemblymember Mike Gipson wants to expand SB 54 so that it applies to some parolees in state prison custody, as the sanctuary-state law contains a carveout for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

But his bill will likely face significant hurdles. Newsom vetoed similar legislation in 2023, saying it would “impede CDCR's interaction with a federal law enforcement agency charged with assessing public safety risks.”

The governor today cited the SB 54 prison exemption when discussing cooperation with federal immigration officials, further underscoring his reluctance to change it.

How hefty are the legal aid proposals?

The Senate and Assembly each have their own version of special session bills to shore up Department of Justice funding in anticipation of Trump administration-related lawsuits.

Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener’s legislation would allocate $60 million, including $25 million for “local front line legal and community-based organizations that protect the civil rights of vulnerable populations.”

Two bills from Assembly Budget Chair Jesse Gabriel would provide $25 million for future litigation and another $500,000 for the state to prepare its legal defense.

Both chambers and the governor will have to come to an agreement on these requests early next year.

IT’S THURSDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@politico.com.

A message from Food & Water Action:

Will Gov. Newsom side with the oil and gas industry or Californians after the “worst gas leak in US history?" In 2015, the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility released 100,000 tons of methane and toxic chemicals, endangering public health. Governor Newsom vowed to shut down Aliso Canyon, but his Public Utilities Commission appointees voted to expand it. The PUC will decide Aliso Canyon’s future on December 19th. Learn more.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

People watch the waves at Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

The National Weather Service issued tsunami warnings for coastal areas of Northern California after a powerful earthquake. | Haven Daley/AP

DID YOU FEEL IT? Northern Californians this morning experienced a 7.0-magnitude earthquake off the North Coast, causing damage in Humboldt County and tremors in the Bay Area and in Sacramento. (Your Playbook team’s office building downtown started swaying.)

It also resulted in tsunami warnings from the National Tsunami Warning Center in parts of California and Oregon, prompting evacuations — including in Berkeley — before the agency canceled it. Oakland, San Francisco and other Bay Area cities told residents to avoid the coast, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, whose district stretches up the North Coast, said late this morning that 10,000 customers were without power in Humboldt County.

“The State is sending immediate assistance to Humboldt & Del Norte Counties to assist with emergency operations,” he wrote. “There are reports of some homes that have come off of foundations in the greater Eel River Valley region of Humboldt.”

Newsom announced a state of emergency to provide resources to earthquake-damaged areas.

REGISTER NOW: As the 118th Congress ends, major decisions loom, including healthcare appropriations. Key focus: site neutrality. Can aligning hospital and clinic costs cut federal spending, reflect physician costs, and lower patient expenses? Join policymakers and providers to discuss.

ON THE BEATS

Gavin Newsom speaks in front of a fence along the border with Mexico.

Gov. Gavin Newsom bashed Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada as a “betrayal” of American consumers. | Gregory Bull/AP

TRUMP’S TARIFFS: Newsom this afternoon bashed Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada as a “betrayal” of American consumers and of the North American trade deal that Trump himself helped negotiate.

"I hope we can all agree the impacts on this region and your pocketbook will universally be felt regardless of your politics," Newsom said at a press conference. "That's a betrayal that needs to be revealed to those that embraced and supported this agenda,” he added.

The California Democrat also needled Trump over the proposal, given that it may violate an agreement he helped craft.

“Is the president-elect embarrassed by his own leadership as it relates to what he often describes as his USMCA?” Newsom asked rhetorically. “Did he do something wrong with that agreement, that now he wants to throw it out completely and impose [a] 25 percent tax increase on the American people?” — Blake Jones

A message from Food & Water Action:

SHUT DOWN: The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced today it plans to permanently close FCI Dublin in Alameda County as part of a wider shuttering of facilities throughout the country.

The Bureau of Prisons in April temporarily closed FCI Dublin after it became known for fostering a culture of staff-on-inmate sexual abuse, as the Associated Press reported this year as part of a yearslong investigation.

The AP reported in April that at least eight FCI Dublin employees had been charged with sexually abusing inmates since 2021.

A Bureau of Prisons release noted it had conducted a “security and infrastructure assessment” of FCI Dublin after temporarily closing it. The evaluation had revealed “considerable repairs needed to reopen the facility.”

“Beyond facility conditions, low staffing has been a persistent challenge at FCI Dublin,” the release said. “Due to the high cost of living and competition from other area law enforcement agencies, the FBOP has been unable to maintain staffing levels at the facility.”

The release emphasized the Bureau of Prisons is not downsizing, and affected employees will have the chance to move to another facility. The agency will shift those in custody to different prisons.

Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today.

WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY

— Ric Grenell associates wooed conservative social media influencers with five-figure contracts to promote his Secretary of State bid. It didn’t work. (POLITICO)

— Researchers say one genetic tweak could mean human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 bird flu virus. (Los Angeles Times)

— California officials fear federal immigration officials are eyeing a new Northern California detention center. (CalMatters)

AROUND THE STATE

— The Oroville community in Northern California is reeling after a gunman opened fire at a faith-based school, critically injuring two kindergartners before fatally shooting himself. (Sacramento Bee)

— Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis won’t have to be deposed about a phone conversation she allegedly had with California State University Chancellor Joseph. I Castro shortly after a 2022 USA investigation into allegations of mishandled sexual harassment claims at the university. (Fresno Bee)

— Los Angeles County officials are figuring out ways to help hundreds of employees who will be affected by the closure of a Phillips 66 oil refinery in Wilmington and Carson late next year. (Los Angeles Times)

A message from Food & Water Action:

Will Gov. Newsom side with the oil and gas industry or Californians after the “worst gas leak in US history?" In 2015, the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility released 100,000 tons of methane and toxic chemicals. SoCalGas’ disaster forced thousands to evacuate their homes to avoid further exposure to cancer-causing benzene and other chemicals.

SoCalGas took four months to seal the gas leak. Families near Aliso are still suffering the consequences. Instead of shutting it down like Gov. Newsom promised, the PUC allowed Aliso to expand by 3,000%, perpetuating the public health threat.

Over 150 organizations have come together to call for a shutdown of Aliso by 2027, but the PUC is considering kicking the can down the road instead of protecting communities. Gov. Newsom and allies should stand with families, not SoCalGas’ profits. On December 19th, the PUC will decide the future of Aliso Canyon. Learn more.