The Trump effect? Newsom pledges to veto Dem bill that would expand protections for illegal aliens

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has promised to veto a bill that would expand protections for illegal aliens, prompting speculation that President Donald Trump's deportation efforts are having an effect even on deep-blue states.

The issue relates to A.B. 15, a bill introduced on February 3 by state Rep. Mike Gipson of the Los Angeles area and co-sponsored by six other Democrat assemblymen. A.B. 15 would expand sanctuary laws in California to prevent state corrections officials from transferring an offender to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or keeping an offender in custody or even sharing more information about the offender upon the request of ICE.

On Thursday, Newsom's office claimed that, should A.B. 15 ever cross his desk, he will immediately veto it, just as he vetoed a nearly identical bill that the Democratic-controlled legislature passed in 2023. When asked for comment, a spokesperson directed reporters to a statement the governor made back then.

"I believe current law strikes the right balance on limiting interaction to support community trust and cooperation between law enforcement and local communities," Newsom wrote when vetoing the 2023 measure.

"ICE will determine how it will proceed with its enforcement of federal law."

In 2017, Newsom's predecessor, Gov. Jerry Brown, signed S.B. 54, which effectively made California a "sanctuary" state, yet even Brown deliberately attempted to exclude the state prison system from being a part of it. So A.B. 15 suggests that some California Democrats are even more radical about sanctuary laws than they were just a few years ago.

'If we have undocumented immigrants who are here who are committing crimes, why should we bear the burden of that when they're not a citizen of our country?'

Newsom's promise to veto A.B. 15 is indeed unusual for the far-left governor. KCRA claimed that Newsom "typically does not comment on proposed state laws this early in the lawmaking process," while the New York Post claimed the promised veto signaled "an about-face" on his recent pledges to guard against the deportation efforts of the Trump administration.

Newsom has attempted to strike a careful balance on illegal immigration since taking office in 2019. In the years since, Newsom has helped ICE facilitate the transfer of more than 10,500 illegal aliens from his state.

However, just this month, Newsom signed bills that would designate about $50 million total for the state to use to defend immigrants against federal law enforcement under Trump. He has also been working since November to establish a statewide Immigrant Support Network that would help immigrants access public benefits and services.

Still, state Sen. Roger Niello, a Republican from Roseville, believes that the majority of Californians are on the side of greater enforcement of immigration laws, especially regarding violent or otherwise dangerous individuals.

"If we have undocumented immigrants who are here who are committing crimes, why should we bear the burden of that when they're not a citizen of our country? I think that's a fairly popular notion," Niello said.

Niello also believes that Democrats are widely out of step on the issue and hinted that Newsom would be wise to buck his party on it. "The governor realizes that popular opinion is contrary to what some people in the legislature want to do," he said.

For his part, President Trump has made deporting illegal aliens a top priority for his second term. Just this week, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Department of Justice had sued the state of New York and some high-profile New York Democrats whose "green light" laws help illegal aliens skirt federal law enforcement.

"New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens," she said at a press conference on Wednesday. "It stops. It stops today."

Though she did not mention California specifically, Bondi did warn other blue cities and states such as Chicago, Illinois, that they will face similar litigation if they fail to cooperate. "If you are a state not complying with federal law, you're next. Get ready!" she said.

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