California's Gov. Gavin Newsom could be preparing for a deportation battle with President-elect Donald Trump, finding ways that illegal immigrants can evade arrest by Trump's incoming border czar Tom Homan and his Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
An internal memo circulated by Newsom’s Department of Social Services talks of the “creation of an Immigrant Support Network comprised of regional ‘hubs’ to connect at-risk individuals, their families, and communities with community systems — such as legal services, schools, labor unions, local governments, etc,” Politico reported.
The missive doesn’t get into specifics, including how much the plan will cost taxpayers, but says it will rely on the “hubs” to tell migrants where they need to go to find assistance, while relaying and accumulating intelligence about Trump’s deportations plans so it can keep those designated for deportation informed. A spokesperson for the governor’s office told The New York Post that the memo is only a “preliminary” document prepared at the “department-level” that has not necessarily received either the input or approval of Newsom.
“This document is an internal and deliberative draft document meant for internal discussions as part of a number of possible considerations given the incoming federal administration’s public remarks,” Scott Murray, a Social Services spokesperson told The Post Tuesday. “It is not a final proposal,” he added.
The Department of Social Services might have sent the memo out as a trial balloon to see what interest it attracts and whether it can be translated into policy, Politico noted. But Newsom has already signaled his desire to fight the Trump administration in court and has asked the state legislature for $25 million towards that end. Newsom, 57, convened an emergency special session of the California Legislature earlier this month to make the budget request, which the governor’s office claims will “safeguard critical funding for disaster relief, health care programs, and other vital services” during Trump’s second term.
Newsom was quick to hit the panic button after Trump’s stunning victory on Nov. 5, calling a “special legislative session” to plan state resistance and saying, “The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack - and we won't sit idle. Kamala Harris set out to fight to defend our fundamental freedoms and build a country that works for everyone.”
“She stood up for working families, decency, and opportunity. Though this is not the outcome we wanted, our fight for freedom and opportunity endures,” he continued, while claiming his state government is well prepared to seek common ground with the new president.
