Newsom Indicates He Will Veto Bill Blocking State Prisons From Working With ICE

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles on Sept. 25, 2024. Eric Thayer/AP Photo

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has indicated he will veto a bill that seeks to prevent the California state prison system from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if the bill passes the Legislature.

If passed, Assembly Bill 15, introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-District 65), who represents parts of south-central Los Angeles, would prevent the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) from cooperating with ICE.

The CDCR would be prohibited from holding someone in custody at the request of ICE, sharing an individual’s release date with ICE, responding to ICE requests for information, or transferring individuals to ICE custody.

“The Governor has twice vetoed versions of this bill before,” Newsom’s office said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times.

California law currently allows CDCR to notify and coordinate with ICE to take custody of illegal immigrants who have come to the end of their state prison term for felony offenses.

The governor’s office shared statistics that the state prison system has notified and coordinated with ICE the transfer of 10,588 state inmates, including illegal aliens who have committed serious crimes. Those crimes include assault and battery, threats, rape, theft, fraud, felony DUI, drug crimes, and more.

Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 1306 in 2023 and another version, Assembly Bill 1282, in 2019.

“His position has been long-held since he was mayor of San Francisco,” the governor’s office stated.

AB 1306 would have prohibited the CDCR from detaining inmates on the basis of a hold request, sharing with ICE release date information, responding to a notification request, transferring to ICE, or facilitating a transfer request for any individual eligible for release, including but not limited to youth offenders, elderly, and medical parole releases.

“The bill would prevent information sharing and coordination upon a person’s release from CDCR custody for a significant number of people and, as a result, would impede CDCR’s interaction with a federal law enforcement agency charged with assessing public safety risks,” Newsom stated at the time of his veto.

“I believe current law strikes the right balance on limiting interaction to support community trust and cooperation between law enforcement and local communities.”

Newsom did say that his administration recognizes the need for improvements.

“CDCR will limit how it communicates with ICE as a federal law enforcement agency, so information is only provided to ICE when a noncitizen individual enters prison and is approaching their release date,” Newsom wrote in the 2023 veto. “ICE would then determine how it proceeds with its enforcement of federal law.”

Assembly Bill 1282 sought to prohibit ICE representatives from arresting, detaining, interrogating, transporting, or taking into custody an individual for immigration enforcement purposes.

Newsom also vetoed that bill.

“This bill would place statutory restrictions on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s ability to transfer inmates between state prisons and prohibit the Department from allowing a private security company to enter the premises for immigration enforcement purposes,” he wrote in 2019.

“I am concerned that provisions in this bill would negatively impact prison operations, and could hinder and delay needed transfers between facilities for myriad situation-specific reasons such as medical care and court obligations.”

Assembly Bill 15, initially introduced in December 2024, remains in committee. The next step would be for the bill to be brought to the floor of the House for consideration.

Gipson and the bill’s cosponsors did not respond to a request for comment.