Dems punch back on ICE raids

Politico

2 days ago

Presented by California Resources Corporation
SUITING UP: California lawmakers are moving to expedite protections for immigrants as ICE raids target Los Angeles and Southern California.
Latino Caucus Chair Lena Gonzalez and AAPI Caucus Chair Mike Fong wrote a letter to Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas asking for a slate of eight bills to be 'fast tracked for rapid approval.'
The letter, which Playbook exclusively obtained, highlights legislation that would make it harder for ICE agents to access schools and health care facilities, allow deported community college students to continue paying in-state tuition for online classes, prohibit employers from discriminating against workers facing deportation and bar federal law enforcement from wearing masks and otherwise shielding their identities.
'While we deeply respect the normal rules and timelines applicable to the passage of legislation, we believe that the federal government's brazen, if not illegal, actions create exigent circumstances that warrant special action,' the letter says.
Before an explosive showdown in Los Angeles this month pulled Democrats back into the immigration debate, they had largely avoided the subject, spooked by how Republicans were able to wield border issues to their advantage in 2024.
The Legislature this year devoted an additional $25 million in state funds to defend undocumented immigrants from deportation, detention and wage theft, but has been reticent to take the kinds of big swings in defense of immigrants as they did during President Donald Trump's first term.
But the ICE raids in the Los Angeles area — and the accompanying protests that spurred Trump to deploy the National Guard — have activated lawmakers who feel the federal government is terrorizing the region's large immigrant population.
Rivas and McGuire signaled support for Gonzalez and Fong's approach, calling the ICE raids 'egregious' and 'reckless' in statements to Playbook.
'All options are on the table and we'll be working with our Assembly partners on potential approaches,' McGuire said in a statement.
Gonzalez and Fong want the bills to take effect immediately after they are signed into law, rather than on Jan. 1, which would require approval from two-thirds of the lawmakers in each house.
A large swath of lawmakers is likely to support legislation pertaining to schools and health care institutions. But other measures — such as the law enforcement masking rules — are likely to face heavy opposition.
San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener and Los Angeles state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez authored complementary bills that would require law enforcement to uncover their faces and wear identification after masked, anonymous federal agents detained immigrants during raids.
The senators are arguing the state has the authority to demand federal law enforcement abide by these standards. Pérez in her bill says the state 'must be able to distinguish between individuals who are lawfully exercising federal authority and those who are not.'
'California has a duty to insist that federal immigration enforcement officials follow the Constitution,' Gonzalez said in a statement. 'These bills would put real guardrails in place to protect residents' due process rights.'
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 [e-mail].
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
WAGE-ING A WAR: Lawmakers are abandoning a last-minute budget provision on construction worker minimum wages after a major backlash from labor unions and environmental groups, this newsletter writer, Rachel Bluth and Eric He scooped this morning for POLITICO Pro subscribers.
Two people close to negotiations told POLITICO the Legislature is dumping the proposal, which would have created a minimum wage for construction workers on certain types of residential projects. Newsom and legislative leaders argued the change would help spur housing construction.
As we reported yesterday, the idea was angrily rebuffed by the State Building and Construction Trades Council and their allies, who argued the wage rules would undercut higher pay standards they've won through bargaining and past legislation. Environmental groups, meanwhile, attacked provisions that would loosen regulations around construction.
The governor's office declined to comment on the decision by legislators to leave the proposed minimum wage out of the ongoing push to approve a series of budget-related bills before a Monday deadline.
IN OTHER NEWS
MEGABILL WOES: Senate Republicans are facing major new issues with their domestic policy megabill after the chamber's parliamentarian advised senators that several provisions they are counting on to reap hundreds of billions of dollars in budget savings won't be able to pass along party lines, our Meredith Lee Hill, Robert King and Jordain Carney report.
Those include major pieces of Medicaid policy, including a politically explosive plan to hold down Medicaid costs by cracking down on a state provider tax — a provision that is expected to have a nine-figure impact on the bill. Republicans now will have to try to rewrite major sections of their Finance bill or potentially leave out key policies.
The decisions were detailed in a Thursday morning memo from Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee. Other provisions now at risk include several GOP proposals to exclude undocumented residents from Medicaid, including by withholding federal funds from states that make them eligible for benefits.
Meanwhile, Trump still wants the bill on his desk by July 4.
PROP 36 LETDOWN: The organizations that lobbied for state money to implement tough-on-crime ballot measure Proposition 36 aren't exactly thrilled about what they're getting for it.
'This budget deal forces counties to implement Prop 36 for pennies on the dollar,' said Graham Knaus, California State Association of Counties CEO, in a statement. 'Californians deserve better.'
As we reported yesterday for Pro subscribers, the spending plan developed by Newsom and legislative leaders includes $50 million for county behavioral health departments, $20 million for court costs and $15 million for pre-trial services, according to a legislative floor report, as well as $15 million for public defenders' general use.
District attorney, law enforcement and probation groups have also shared their displeasure about the allocation, calling it 'a slap in the face to California voters and a blueprint for the failure of Proposition 36.'
WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY
— California has reported more measles cases this year than in 2024 as the U.S. grapples with its largest outbreak of the disease in decades. (Los Angeles Times)
— Advocacy groups and some members of a California desert community expressed concern over a plan between ICE and a private prison contractor to turn a prison into the state's largest immigrant detention center. (The Guardian)
— DHS said that immigration enforcement teams in Los Angeles and surrounding areas in Southern California arrested more than 1,600 immigrants between June 6-22. (Los Angeles Times)
AROUND THE STATE
— San Francisco supervisors reached a deal with Mayor Daniel Lurie that restores funding for roughly 100 threatened jobs and programs. (San Francisco Chronicle)
— A newly released report by the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury pointed to flaws in how the area handles road maintenance. (East Bay Times)
— Fresno County's top administrator was told to develop a new policy for what Pride Month observances and celebrations employees can recognize on the clock. (Fresno Bee)
— compiled by Juliann Ventura