by California Governor Gavin Newsom applauded the return of 2,000 National Guard troops to state control while delivering a blistering critique of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics during a press conference Wednesday afternoon outside Downey Memorial Christian Church.
The remarks came just a day after the Pentagon ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 National Guard troops from Los Angeles. Another 2,000 Guard members and 700 Marines remain deployed across the state.
“This is about families. This is about communities. This is about our economy,” Newsom said. “And it’s about time Donald Trump grow up.”
The Democratic governor accused President Donald Trump of instilling fear in immigrant communities, dividing families, and damaging both the economy and democracy.
In a pointed rebuke, Newsom described a climate where even legal immigrants feel threatened. “People are quite literally disappearing with no due process,” he said, recalling a June incident when ICE agents arrested a man in a church parking lot in Downey, captured on video by the Rev. Tanya Lopez.
Newsom praised Lopez’s action and used it as an example of what he called “a level we have not seen in modern times” of aggressive immigration enforcement across California.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security pushed back, calling on Newsom to condemn violence against federal law enforcement. “The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable,” said Homeland Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. “Democrat politicians like Governor Newsom are contributing to the 830 percent surge in assaults of our ICE officers through their repeated vilification.”
McLaughlin added that comparisons between ICE and the Nazi Gestapo, along with “glorifying rioters,” are fueling threats against officers.
When pressed about a recent raid in Camarillo, where a protester allegedly fired a pistol at federal agents, Newsom acknowledged concerns over violence but also shared that a farmworker, Jaime Alanis, 57, fell to his death during the same raid—making him the first known fatality tied to ICE operations.
Newsom also criticized ICE agents for wearing masks, arguing that they add confusion and fear. “If I’m walking randomly down the street with my kids and someone grabs me with a mask and tries to throw me into an unmarked van, I’m surprised someone hasn’t gotten hurt,” he said.
The governor said the returning National Guard troops will resume duties related to wildfire response and the fight against fentanyl and other narcotics. Their redeployment is expected to take a couple of weeks.
Calling the current immigration environment “Trump’s America 2025,” Newsom concluded his remarks by emphasizing the need for federal agents to operate transparently and humanely, saying, “This is not about violent criminals, quite the opposite.”
