{"id":713,"date":"2026-08-03T20:54:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/?p=713"},"modified":"2026-08-03T20:54:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:54:49","slug":"here-we-go-again-another-unstable-democrat-says-hell-arrest-ice-agents%f0%9f%a5%b6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/?p=713","title":{"rendered":"Here We Go Again: Another Unstable Democrat Says He\u2019ll Arrest ICE Agents\ud83e\udd76"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several California gubernatorial candidates have pledged to prosecute federal immigration agents, though legal experts say such actions would violate the U.S. Constitution.<\/em><\/p>\n

The pledges emerged during the state\u2019s competitive gubernatorial race, with multiple leading candidates vowing to take action against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. The promises have raised questions about the legal feasibility of state-level prosecution of federal officers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What the Candidates Proposed<\/h2>\n

Billionaire Tom Steyer called for abolishing ICE and prosecuting its agents, describing the agency as a \u201cviolent extremist group.\u201d Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa compared ICE officers to extremist organizations, while state Schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond promised to have agents arrested.<\/p>\n

Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra vowed to \u201cpolice the immigration police\u201d as part of his campaign platform. These candidates represent leading contenders in the race to lead the nation\u2019s most populous state.<\/p>\n

Legal Constraints<\/h2>\n

Constitutional law experts say such prosecutions face a fundamental barrier: the Supremacy Clause of Article VI in the U.S. Constitution. Under this provision and decades of Supreme Court precedent, states cannot criminally prosecute federal officers for actions taken in the lawful course of their federal duties.<\/p>\n

Legal scholars note this principle has been established law for over two centuries. The restriction applies when federal officers reasonably believed their actions were necessary to fulfill their official responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Campaign Strategy<\/h2>\n

Political observers note the pledges represent a significant element of the candidates\u2019 campaign messaging on immigration enforcement. The promises have resonated with portions of the Democratic voter base opposing federal immigration enforcement policies.<\/p>\n

Despite their prominence in campaign rhetoric, legal experts maintain the proposals would face immediate constitutional challenges if implemented through state action.<\/p>\n

This story has been updated. CNN\u2019s Political Team contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several California gubernatorial candidates have pledged to prosecute federal immigration agents, though legal experts say such actions would violate the U.S. Constitution. The pledges emerged during the state\u2019s competitive gubernatorial … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":715,"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713\/revisions\/715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/checkthenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}