California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta has joined a growing list of Democratic leaders vowing to resist President-elect Donald Trump and border czar Tom Homan’s plans for mass deportations.
Last week, Bonta issued new guidance to courthouses, healthcare facilities, universities, schools, labor agencies, public libraries and shelters, requiring state-run agencies to adopt policies to resist Trump’s “draconian” and “inhumane” immigration enforcement actions.
“My office will continue to use the full force of the law and every tool at our disposal to protect the rights of California’s immigrants – and we need staff at these critical locations to do the same,” Bonta said. “We cannot let the Trump deportation machine create a culture of fear and mistrust that prevents immigrants from accessing vital public services.”
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta. (Loren Elliott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to California’s AG office, the guidance lays out model policies and recommendations that “guide public institutions in complying with California law limiting state and local participation in immigration enforcement activities.”
“In California, we believe our public resources, like libraries, hospitals, courthouses and schools should be available for all without fear of civil immigration enforcement,” Bonta said during a press event announcing the guidance. “The model policies we’re issuing to public facilities … provide policy recommendations that may mitigate disruptions from immigration enforcement actions at public institutions.”
The guidance refers state agencies to a 2017 law called the “California Values Act” that the AG office said, “prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from assisting with immigration enforcement, with limited exceptions.”
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Migrants are processed by the U.S. Border Patrol near the Jacumba Hot Springs after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on June 13, 2024 in San Diego. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
Bonta’s guidance includes prohibiting the “unauthorized” collection or disclosure of information that “might indicate an individual’s or family’s citizenship or immigration status,” as well as instituting a policy of always referring federal law enforcement officials to a designated person who will “have the authority to respond to immigration enforcement-related requests.”
“I want to emphasize that the California DOJ is here to protect immigrants’ safety, immigrants’ freedoms and immigrants’ rights,” said Bonta. “Let me be clear, President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda is draconian and his rhetoric, xenophobic.”
Bonta, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines with his parents at 2 months old, also said that Trump’s deportation plan is “fiscally irresponsible.” He called immigrants “the backbone of our nation.”
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A group of adult and child migrants are smuggled across the Tijuana-San Diego border as they climb the wall to seek asylum to the United States in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on June 7, 2024. (Carlos Moreno/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Kevin McCarthy, former speaker of the House and congressman from California, told Fox News that California politicians like Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom are costing California taxpayers huge sums by making the state a “magnet” for illegal immigrants.
“He’ll give them free healthcare, I mean, he denies California citizens certain things but not to those who come illegally that’s why we attract so many and it’s costing a great deal, we have a huge deficit in California,” said McCarthy.
McCarthy said that Bonta’s actions are an attempt to “make a name for himself” in Democratic politics despite concerns over illegal immigration and violent crime by illegal migrants playing a major role in Trump’s retaking of the White House in 2024.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference where he signed legislation related to oversight of oil and gas wells, and community protections on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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“These attorneys general should take a deep breath, listen to what the American public said and understand that immigration was one of the major reasons why Donald Trump won, and it wasn’t a Republican issue, [it was] Republican and Democrat too,” he said.
He pointed to the election of Nathan Hochman as Los Angeles County District Attorney, who he said was “overwhelmingly elected because we watched the crime go rampant.”
“As attorney general, your job is to protect your citizens. Why wouldn’t you want these gang members, I mean these are ruthless gang members and these have been running the drugs of fentanyl that have been killing your children, why wouldn’t you want them out? I would think that would be your job without having the president do it,” said McCarthy. “People want to see something else happen, especially from this attorney general.”
