Immigration took center stage during Wednesday night’s Los Angeles mayoral and California gubernatorial debates as candidates clashed over health care coverage for the undocumented, immigration enforcement and the state’s response to Pres. Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
The gubernatorial candidates offered their proposals for ICE, with the Democrats pledging to hold the federal agency accountable on varying degrees.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra said he would investigate, prosecute and convict ICE if agents violated the law. Billionaire candidate Tom Steyer took one step further and said he wants to abolish ICE.
Steve Hilton, former Fox News host and Republican frontrunner, said he is for cooperating with the federal government on immigration enforcement “peacefully and calmly.”
NBC Los Angeles spoke with some voters who watched the debates. Some said they were disappointed not to hear detailed answers from each candidate. Others said no one has yet to present clear plans on the health care coverage issue as well as holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accountable.
“California has the largest population of immigrants of refugees, needs a bold champion in Sacramento,” Carlos Perea, voter, said. “I haven’t seen any of the candidates position themselves with a clear, consistent plan that they oppose ICE.”
Others, who support the idea of deporting dangerous criminals, wondered how each candidate would respond to regular people being grabbed from their workplaces and off the streets to be deported.
“As far as people going about their business, i don’t want people deported like that,” said Miguel Becerra, another voter.
There’s also the fear factor as the ongoing ICE operations have left many families freighted, forcing them to live on the edge.
“I’m scared, my parents. My parents are working everyday because they have to make a living, and part of me doesn’t want them to go, but I have to let them and myself, too,” Lupita Rodriguez, voter, said.
The organization’s executive director said experience matters when it comes to running the city of LA. Mekahlo Medina reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
In the city of Los Angeles, mayoral candidates were asked about the proposal that seeks to allow non-citizens to vote on city-related matters. LA Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez has put forward the plan to ask city voters whether they want to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. The goal is to have the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Spencer Pratt, Republican candidate and reality TV personality, said he is a firm no when it comes to the proposal while incumber Mayor Karen Bass and LA Councilmember Nithya Raman said, “It depends.”
Bass pointed out non-citizens are not all undocumented; they may include Green Card holders, asylum seekers or those who are in the country legally through a Visa.
At least one voter said because non-citizens contribute to the city’s economy, the should be allowed to vote.
“Democracy at the core level, at the municipal level is important,” Perea said. “Most of the cities economic revenue comes from taxes that are sustained by immigrants.”
See below for what each gubernatorial stands on immigration issues.
Steve Hilton is a British conservative media personality running for governor of California. Here’s what you need to know.
Steve Hilton
Hilton, born to Hungarian refugees to the U.K. and an immigrant to the U.S. himself, told NBC Los Angeles’ Political Reporter Conan Nolan that he is “100% in favor of legal immigration.” But he makes an argument made by other conservative voices: cheap foreign workers are taking jobs away from Californians.
“(A construction worker in Sacramento) said he’s been laid off because the employers are now hiring illegal immigrant workers that they don’t have to pay health care, they don’t have to pay all these costs, don’t have to pay proper taxes,” Hilton said on NBCLA’s NewsConference on March 22. “That’s not fair to regular Californians.”
When asked who will be replacing undocumented workers in the farming industry and “pick crops,” Hilton predicted that most of the farm work will be automated in five years.
NBC4’s Political Reporter Conan Nolan speaks with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of the two Republicans running for governor in California. He shares why he believes a Republican will win in the bluest state in the nation and why he blames the media for the controversy over his seizure of some 650,000 that were cast in Riverside County in last year’s special election.
Chad Bianco
Riverside County Chad Bianco has pledged to repeal California’s sanctuary law, which prevents cities and counties within the state from aiding Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Bianco told NBC Los Angeles’ Political Reporter Conan Nolan that ICE raids were caused by the Democrats.
“We warned them. We told them if you are going to prevent sheriffs from cooperating with ICE for criminals in our jail and turning them over, you’re going to force ICE into our communities, and grandma, friends and people you don’t expect are going to be encounters.”
Billionaire Tom Steyer is former hedge fund executive turned philanthropist, environmental activist and politician. Here’s what you need to know.
Tom Steyer
Steyer has pledged to stop ICE from conducting immigration enforcement operations in California. He also said he would prosecute and imprison ICE agents as a governor. But he did not specify how the proposal could realistically come to fruition given the Supremacy Clause and legal barriers the Newsom administration has faced.
He also said he would invest more in hiring attorneys and investigators for the state government so they can represent undocumented Californians.
Xaveir Beccera served as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services after serving California as a Congressman and Attorney General.
Xavier Becerra
The son of immigrants also said he would provide health care coverage to undocumented immigrants. Becerra has criticized Gov. Newsom’s decision to roll back the program that used to provide health insurance to undocumented immigrants.
While his Democratic rival Katie Porter criticized him for having “lovely plans” without details, Becerra has said based on his successful track record, he will fight against the federal government to protected immigrants in California and grant work permits and protection from deportation to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
Katie Power is a Democratic politician, law professor and author. Here’s what you need to know.
Katie Porter
Former Congresswoman Katie Porter has pledged to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by working with federal partners although she has not laid out details.
She has not explained how she would push for the elimination of ICE when it is not guaranteed that the Democratic Party will control both chambers of Congress or the White House after the Trump administration.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is joining the crowded race for California governor. Conan Nolan reports for the NBC4 News at 7 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2026.
Matt Mahan
San Jose Mayor Mahan is aligned with the Democratic Party that he does not believe local cities and police department should cooperate with federal authorities on immigration. However, San Jose has been calling itself a “welcoming city,” instead of a sanctuary city.
Mahan is a supporter of the No Secret Police Act, a state law that would prohibit federal agents from wearing masks when conducting operations in public. (A federal judge blocked the law last month.)
As he did for the city of San Jose, Mahan is pledging to set aside funding to defend immigrant communities in the state budget, so the funding can be used to provide urgent financial assistance to immigrant families to pay for essentials, such as rent and food.
Former LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced that he is running for California governor in 2026. This video was broadcast on the NBC4 News at 6 a.m. on July 23, 2024.
Antonio Villaraigosa
Similar to other Democratic candidates, former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has criticized the Trump administration for its immigration raids across the state. He said, on his first day in office as governor, he would sign emergency executive orders to hold ICE accountable.
As part of his ICE accountability plan, Villaraigosa said California would cooperate with ICE if federal agents complete 40 hours of California peace officer training on use of force, and search and seizure.
He’s also pushing for health care for all Californians regardless of immigration status.