California Sen. Alex Padilla wants to keep California resources out of newly elected President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans, adhering to the constitutional requirement that the federal government control the border, he said Sunday.
“There is an important distinction here. No state government, not Texas, not California, not a single state in the country has constitutional authority to enforce federal immigration laws. That is the responsibility of the federal government,” Padilla, a Democrat, told a guest. host Major Garrett on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Trump has promised to declare a national emergency and use the military for mass deportations, with a backlash to the threat from many Democrats and even some Republicans.
“Let the federal government do the federal government’s work, but let state and local officials do the state and local officials’ work. There doesn’t need to be a conflict unless that’s what Trump wants,” Padilla said.
California Senate Bill 54, a 2017 law that bans state and local law enforcement agencies from using resources to assist with federal immigration enforcement, could create that conflict. The Trump administration’s new border czar, Tom Homan, recently warned that local law enforcement officers who do not cooperate with ICE agents in the deportation process will face federal prosecution.
“Some states like Texas want to push the boundaries and try to find a way to help, but there is no obligation to do that,” Padilla said. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has insisted that if the US fails to properly protect the border, Texas has the right to do so itself. For example, the state has installed barbed wire across the border with Mexico.
Padilla emphasized that California “will not use state and local resources to do the federal government’s work for them.”
Padilla is not the only California politician to speak out against Trump’s border policies. California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas has pledged to “make sure people feel protected and welcome.” Gov. Gavin Newsom made clear that California will lead the resistance against Trump in numerous ways, including on immigration.
“California is the most populous state in the country, the most diverse state in the country, and is home to more immigrants than any state in the country,” Padilla said. “The last thing you want is for immigrants who are victims of crime to be afraid to come forward to report it. The last thing you want is for immigrants who may have witnessed a crime to be afraid to come forward and share whatever information they have in the investigation and prosecution of crimes.”
In addition to immigration, Padilla expressed concerns about Trump’s relationship with California in general.
“If the federal government is going to continue to support California in its leadership and in so many policy areas, there is still a lot of good work to be done on that front. But Donald Trump has made no secret of the fact that he has it in store for California,” the senator said, referring to FEMA money that Trump “tried to keep not from the government of California, but from California families, simply because it is a state that was not voted for. him in the presidential elections.”
He continued: “We are trying to protect ourselves from these types of threats.”
