Governor Newsom signs several laws to protect Californians against federal agents
LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA) - Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) signed five bills into law Saturday for the protection of the state's immigrant communities.
The historic package pushes back against the Trump Administration's "secret police" tactics in California by prohibiting federal officers, including ICE, from wearing masks and hiding their identities from the public.
"These masked men had no identification. These masked men did not provide any information, name, badge number hidden from accountability, any transparency, any oversight. That's Trump's America, but it is not the America we've grown up in. And so we're pushing back against this," Gov. Newsom spoke.
With these laws, there are now expectations for officers to help keep people safe, including protecting student information, classrooms, emergency rooms, and non-public areas in hospitals.
Federal law enforcement will now require a judicial warrant or court order to access those areas going forward.
"You're going to go out and you're going to do enforcement, provide an ID. Tell us which agency you represent. Provide us basic information that all local law enforcement is required to provide. Have the decency not to threaten people as they go to school," Newsom expressed.
California is the first state in the U.S. to put these expectations in place and prohibit federal officers from hiding their identities.
