Speaking to Katie Phang<\/a> on Wednesday, Swalwell said ICE agents would be “unhirable” in the state should he become governor, and said, through his emergency powers, the state policy would be to not hire ICE agents.<\/p>\n “It’s often the case that law enforcement officers will want to lateral from one department to another. And as governor, I’ll use my emergency powers, and I’ll tell every state agency, we are not, as a policy, hiring ICE agents. Because right now, these guys doing this work, it’s a decision. No one’s holding a gun and saying you have to work for ICE,” Swalwell told Phang.<\/p>\n Democratic United States Representative Eric Swalwell delivers a speech as he attends the SEIU-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW)’s Gubernatorial Candidate Worker Forum at Meruelo Studios in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 10, 2026.\u00a0 (ETIENNE LAURENT\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n CALIFORNIA LAUNCHES MISCONDUCT PORTAL FOR REPORTING FEDERAL AGENTS DURING ICE DEPORTATION OPERATIONS<\/a><\/p>\n He added, “So when I’m governor, if you’re still working for ICE<\/a> and you haven’t got the message that no one’s asking you to do this, you won’t be hired in the state.”<\/p>\n The California lawmaker said he couldn’t take on any other crisis until he does the job of being “a fighter protector for Californians.”<\/p>\n ICE did not immediately return a request to Fox News Digital<\/a> for comment.<\/p>\n Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel in the Rayburn House Office Building on Sept. 17, 2025.\u00a0 (Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n SWALWELL MOCKED FOR DEMANDING 2028 DEMOCRATS PLEDGE TO DEMOLISH TRUMP’S BALLROOM<\/a><\/p>\n Swalwell said<\/a> earlier this month that he intended to revoke the driver’s licenses of federal immigration agents who wear masks, in an interview with MS Now.<\/p>\n “If the president is going to send ICE agents to chase immigrants through the fields where they work, what I’m going to is make them take off their masks and show their faces, that they show their identification, and if they commit crimes, that they’re going to be charged with crimes,” he said.<\/p>\n “If the governor has the ability to issue driver\u2019s licenses to people in California, if you\u2019re going to wear a mask and not identify yourself, you\u2019re not going to be eligible to drive a vehicle in California,” Swalwell added. \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/eric-swalwell-ice-hiring.jpg\")
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