{"id":480107,"date":"2026-09-30T04:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T04:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/480107\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T04:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T04:34:09","slug":"newsom-signs-new-laws-to-rein-in-immigration-agents-as-trumps-deportation-campaign-escalates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/480107\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsom Signs New Laws to Rein in Immigration Agents as Trump\u2019s Deportation Campaign Escalates"},"content":{"rendered":"

The largest planned deportation program in U.S. history swept up more than 38,000 people in California<\/a> since February 2025.<\/p>\n

The federal government purchased detention facilities, in part to avoid scrutiny from local governments. Protests erupted against the detentions and the facilities, and police dispersed those protests with the help of stun grenades.<\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed a package of immigration bills that Democrats aim to disrupt the deportation program in California, limit the tactics of immigration enforcement agencies and open up federal agents to civil liability. The most significant bills will likely be tested in federal court.<\/p>\n

They range from prohibiting immigration agents from using electric shock gloves<\/a> to creating a bill of rights for people held in detention and extending the state\u2019s power to investigate conditions inside detention centers.<\/p>\n

The new laws come in the midst of an escalation in Trump\u2019s deportation plan with weekly immigration arrests hitting new records<\/a> across the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about stepping up where the federal government has failed our communities,\u201d Newsom said in a written statement. \u201cWe will continue protecting our people, upholding the rule of law, and making clear that if the federal government operates in California, we will hold them accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most sweeping change would allow anyone to sue federal agents for violations of their constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

Under federal law, the only legal relief available now to people who sue agents of the U.S. government is a \u201cBivens\u201d action<\/a>, named after the 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case in which a man successfully sued drug enforcement agents who violated his Fourth Amendment right against illegal search and seizure.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the bill, which they call the No Kings Act<\/a>, say it \u201ccloses that accountability gap (by) providing for a clear statutory pathway to sue any official \u2014 federal, state, or local \u2014 who violates the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cICE and Border Patrol have terrorized California communities with impunity. That ends today,\u201d Sen. Scott Wiener, the San Francisco Democrat who wrote the law, said in a written statement after Newsom signed it.<\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s opponents, which include dozens of California law enforcement agencies, argue that the law isn\u2019t necessary, and that it will \u201cpromote second-guessing of a public employee\u2019s actions made in good faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actions of immigration enforcement agents \u2014 including whether they are acting within their duties when detain or kill someone, and whether they are following the laws of the state in which they\u2019re operating \u2014 are at the center of court battles between California and the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

The January fatal shootings of two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were protesting the Trump administration\u2019s deportation program in Minneapolis underscored the stakes for California Democrats who demanded more accountability of federal agents. Dozens of people have been injured in protests, or when the agents misidentify a person as a deportation target.<\/p>\n

When an unarmed person in California is shot and killed by a police officer, the state attorney general can investigate the shooting under a 2020 program. Newsom signed a law that duplicates that legislation<\/a>, but applies it to immigration agents who kill unarmed people.<\/p>\n

The state program would face an immediate legal problem stemming from an 1890 U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> case which forbids states from prosecuting federal law enforcement officers acting in the course of their duties. That case played a critical role earlier this year when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a California law Newsom signed last year that tried to compel masked federal agents to identify themselves.<\/p>\n

Other new California laws focus on conditions in immigrant detention centers.\u00a0 Detainees have complained of filthy drinking water, among other issues \u2014 most of them confirmed by investigations by counties and civil liberties groups. The private detention facilities provide water for sale in their canteens, but the prices were significantly marked up.<\/p>\n

One of the new laws extends California\u2019s authority to investigate private detention centers, a power it uses for annual reviews of medical care inside the facilities.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the immigration-related bills Newsom signed into law:<\/p>\n

Civil lawsuits against federal agents: Senate Bill 747<\/a>, the so-called No Kings Act, allows civil lawsuits against officers over alleged civil rights violations.
\nBanning electric shock gloves: Assembly Bill 2760<\/a> prohibits federal agents from using electric shock gloves. Lawmakers advanced the bill quickly in response to reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement bought thousands of the weapons<\/a>.
\nCivil rights for detainees: SB 942<\/a> declares a bill of rights of people held in immigrant detention centers, including access to healthcare and healthy food.
\nState investigations: SB 1399<\/a> extends a law that empowers state agencies to investigate conditions in immigrant detention centers.
\n911 calls: SB 423<\/a> requires government agencies to release details of emergency calls<\/a> coming from immigrant detention centers. The bill was prompted by CalMatters\u2019 reporting on alleged sexual assaults<\/a> at Otay Mesa Detention Center.
\nAccess to state property: AB 1807<\/a> prohibits immigration agents from using state-owned property.
\nShooting investigations: AB 1806<\/a> requires state prosecutors to investigate shootings by federal immigration agents.
\nCrowd control: SB 937<\/a> forbids law enforcement agencies from using flash-bang grenades to break up protests.<\/p>\n

Nigel Duara is a reporter with CalMatters. CalMatters reporter Wendy Fry contributed to this story.<\/p>\n

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