California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken the first step toward falling in line with President Donald Trump’s immigration policy just days after sanctuary cities were put on notice.
The Democrat will veto a bill from woke politicians in his own party who sought to limit state prisons’ cooperation with immigration agents as ICE carries out Trump’s mass deportation scheme.
Newsom has long boasted about the migrant protections offered under California’s sanctuary city laws.
But the proposed policy goes a step too far even for Newsom, who has clashed with President Trump repeatedly over opposing politics.
It is not the first time Newsom has rubbished this proposal, but it still puts him closer to lockstep with the President after Attorney General Pam Bondi warned left-leaning states to fall into line.
Bondi revealed Wednesday the Justice Department is suing New York and Governor Kathy Hochul for prioritizing illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens.
‘This is a new DOJ and we are taking steps to protect Americans,’ she said. ‘It stops today.’
She warned the Justice Department is prepared to target other states as the administration battles local officials for standing in the way of federal officials.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken the first step toward falling in line with President Donald Trump ‘s immigration policy just days after sanctuary cities were put on notice by the new administration
Newsom was one of Trump’s most outspoken political critics during his 2024 election campaign, while the President coined the nickname ‘Newscum’ for the governor
President Trump campaigned on a policy of mass deportation and set about keeping his promise within minutes of his return to the White House
In addition, border czar Tom Homan repeatedly said he would consider criminally prosecuting local officials who stand in the way of the new Trump regime.
Bondi said she hopes it doesn’t come to that, but didn’t rule out more severe action if her warnings aren’t heeded.
‘We’re going to see what they do next,’ she said. ‘We don’t want to sue you. We don’t want to prosecute people. We want people to comply with the law.’
Newsom is in favor of California’s current sanctuary city laws, but could not support the new legislation which would prohibit state prisons from holding an immigrant in custody if requested to do so by ICE.
The law would also prevent authorities from sharing an inmate’s release date with the federal government, responding to requests for information or transferring individuals into ICE custody.
Newsom last year rejected an almost identical bill because it impeded on the work of ‘a federal law enforcement agency charged with assessing public safety risks.’
It’s a rare – but not unheard of – move for Newsom to veto legislation introduced by a fellow Democrat.
President Trump campaigned on a policy vowing to conduct the largest-ever deportation of illegal immigrants in U.S. history and set about keeping his promise within minutes of his return to the White House.
His administration has been making up to 1,100 immigration arrests per day, with 8,000 nationwide in the first two weeks alone, the White House revealed
While Trump and his MAGA allies have been boasting about the success of his deportation scheme, it has sparked protests around the nation
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has conducted raids in major U.S. cities known to be lenient to undocumented migrants living in their jurisdictions.
On Monday, the White House said in a video highlighting Trump’s accomplishments that ICE had arrested 11,000 ‘criminals’ over 18 days. That averages out to about 611 arrests per day.
Violent criminal gangs have been sought out and dismantled, with raids at known Tren de Aragua parties and a renewed effort to send the worst of the worst to Guantanamo Bay.
New executive orders expanded ICE’s authority, allowing agents to target migrants at sensitive locations like schools and churches – a move which sent chills through migrant communities.
‘This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens – including murderers and rapists – who have illegally come into our country,’ the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
Trump has also been able to strong arm foreign governments into accepting his border and deportation policies.
He secured a promise to send an additional 10,000 Mexican troops to the US border after threatening to impose crippling tariffs on the nation.
The President said the soldiers will be ‘specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country.’
‘We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations.’
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Newsom’s Los Angeles last week to rally against Trump’s policies, in scenes of defiance and chaos in the culturally diverse metropolis
President Trump has ordered a mass deportation crackdown, hunting down and targeting criminals who entered the United States illegally
While Trump and his MAGA allies have been boasting about the success of his deportation scheme, it has sparked liberal fury and protests around the nation.
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Newsom’s Los Angeles last week to rally against Trump’s policies, in scenes of defiance and chaos in the culturally diverse metropolis.
Police in riot gear stood shoulder to shoulder in an effort to stop the protesters spreading down the road.
Even amid protests and criticism from liberals, Homan has vowed to ramp up the deportations.
‘Sanctuary cities are putting roadblocks up, we got leaks,’ he said, noting how some ICE operations have been foiled due to intelligence leaks.
‘So, we need to increase the arrests of illegal aliens, especially those with criminal convictions. So, we’re going to continue. So, three times higher is good. The numbers are good. For me, not good enough. We’ve got to get more.’
While Newsom will not end sanctuary city policies in his state, the latest development appears to be progress for the strained relationship between he and the President.
Newsom was one of Trump’s most outspoken political critics during his election campaign, while the President coined the nickname ‘Newscum’ for the governor.
And more recently during the Los Angeles wildfire crisis, he and Trump clashed over who was at fault after the President said California officials could have stopped the deadly infernos by turning on a ‘valve’ to release gallons of water.
Bondi revealed the Justice Department is suing New York, its governor Kathy Hochul and other state leaders for prioritizing illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens
Trump told a press conference that ‘Los Angeles has massive amounts of water available to it’ and ‘all they have to do is turn the valve.’
‘Think of a sink but multiply it by many thousands of times the size of it, it’s massive,’ he said.
You turn it back toward Los Angeles. Why aren’t they doing it? They either have a death wish, they’re stupid or there’s something else going on that we don’t understand.
‘They throw the water into the Pacific Ocean – these people are crazy. So we’re going to be issuing an executive order demanding that they immediately let that water come down through California.’
Newsom disputed the claims, telling DailyMail.com that ‘Trump is either unaware of how water is stored in California or is deliberately misleading the public.
‘There is no imaginary spigot to magically make water appear at a wildfire, despite what Trump claims.’