California Gov. Gavin Newsom is now reportedly insisting that his state works hand in hand with federal immigration authorities, even as critics point to California’s sanctuary policies, recent anti-ICE riots, and his own sharp rhetoric as evidence of a very different reality.
Newsom made the claim during an interview with Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire, who pressed the governor on California’s sanctuary state status and his long record of hostility toward Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The exchange followed renewed controversy after Newsom’s press office suggested that the shooting of a woman driving her car toward an ICE agent in Minneapolis amounted to “state-sponsored terrorism.”
During the interview, Newsom argued that California cooperates extensively with ICE when it comes to convicted criminals. He said the state works directly with federal authorities in its prison system and claimed California has transferred more individuals to ICE custody than any other state. Newsom added that he has vetoed multiple bills passed by his own legislature that would have limited California’s ability to cooperate with ICE on prison transfers.
“So when it comes to the issues of violent criminals, when it comes to felons,” Newsom said, California does cooperate with ICE, particularly when individuals are being released from what he described as the largest state prison system in the country.
However, available data from Newsom’s time as governor complicate that narrative. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, between October 1, 2022, and February 6, 2025, more than half of all ICE detainers nationwide were issued in California. Those detainers, which request that local law enforcement hold illegal immigrants arrested for crimes so ICE can take custody, totaled more than 13,000 in California alone. The next highest state, Illinois, recorded fewer than 3,000 during the same period.
Despite Newsom’s tough talk about violent offenders, the data also show that during that timeframe, California law enforcement released at least 29 illegal immigrants facing homicide charges or convictions. Local law enforcement agencies have repeatedly cited California’s sanctuary policies as obstacles that prevent officers from coordinating more closely with ICE after arresting illegal immigrants for serious crimes.
During the interview, Newsom conceded that it was “fair” to criticize his press office for accusing ICE of terrorism and pushed back against calls from fellow Democrats to abolish the agency outright. His acknowledgment came after Shapiro told him that labeling ICE as terrorists only worsens the political climate and that ICE officers are “obviously not terrorists.”
That admission stood in contrast to Newsom’s remarks after the Minneapolis shooting, when he accused ICE of acting as President Donald Trump’s “personal police force” and claimed the agency had “rampaged” across the country. Newsom argued that the Trump administration had fueled extremism and cruelty while discarding accountability, calling the enforcement approach reckless.
In September, Newsom signed legislation aimed at barring ICE officers from wearing masks during operations. The move came amid a surge in harassment, assaults, and violent threats against ICE agents. The law followed violent riots in Los Angeles, where law enforcement officers were attacked and vehicles were burned after ICE began enforcement operations. Those riots ultimately cost more than $30 million, including over $1.4 million in property damage, and prompted Trump to deploy the National Guard to protect federal agents.
Newsom criticized that deployment as “purposefully inflammatory” and warned it would erode public trust, even as critics argued it was necessary to restore order after days of unrest.
