Know your rights, California

News

Jan 24, 2026

Know your rights, California

What you need to know: As communities across the country continue to confront the federal government's dangerous, authoritarian violence, it's important to know your rights and call for Congressional action.

SACRAMENTO – As the nation experiences yet another violent killing at the hands of federal agents, Governor Gavin Newsom today urged Californians to stay safe and know their rights amidst the ongoing federal chaos. Trump wants local communities to respond with violence so he can justify his authoritarian actions – like deploying the military against civilians and expanding dangerous, immigration raids.

The federal government has used California as a training ground to test their blatantly racist, dangerous, and indiscriminate mass detention agenda. They have killed civilians, terrified children, arrested Americans, and disappeared parents.

In California, we know our rights—and we will defend them. When federal agents are used to intimidate and kill civilians, when people's rights under the Constitution are treated as optional, that's not strength—that's authoritarianism. And we must continue rejecting that notion – every single day. No President and no administration is above our country's Constitution, and no one in this country is without rights. In California, we stand for accountability, the rule of law, and freedom over fear. Democracy will only survive if we refuse to let it be bullied into silence.

Governor Gavin Newsom

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote this week on a proposal to fund ICE and Border Patrol without any guardrails and restraints for public safety. As the news of the latest killing out of Minneapolis at the hands of federal immigration agents reverberates nationwide it is yet another unfortunate reminder why checks and balances need to be enforced. Californians – and communities nationwide – should vehemently oppose this vote and Congress needs to do its job and place guardrails on the Trump Administration's continued abuses of power.

Support your immigrant neighbors and friends by calling for congressional action to hold federal agencies accountable, and to pass laws so that good, hardworking immigrant Californians can stay and work in the United States. The Trump administration is targeting people for detention and deportation who are following the immigration rules, are good contributing members of our communities and economy, and are part of American families.  Mass indiscriminate raids hurt all of us. We need real solutions, not cruelty and economic harm.

Be aware

Governor Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta have a new online portal to assist members of the public in reporting potentially unlawful activity by federal agents and officers across the state. The portal allows Californians to submit video and photos, helping create a record of potential unlawful conduct by federal agents and informing possible legal actions the state may take to protect Californians' rights. If you believe you are witnessing a crime in progress, you should call 911 or your local law enforcement agency and report it.

You have the right to peacefully exercise your First Amendment rights but it is against the law to threaten, assault, or block access to federal property or interfere with federal law enforcement operations. Violence is never the answer, and assaulting a federal agent or obstructing an arrest is a crime.

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Keep a safe distance and be mindful that you may encounter federal agents who are angry, inexperienced, improperly vetted, and untrained on how to do their job safely, including interacting with demonstrators or large crowds.

Exercise your rights

Trump and Stephen Miller have brought chaos and violence to our streets, undermining local law enforcement and creating dangerous situations. Violence is exactly what Trump wants, so he can use it as a reason to further block access to lawyers when people are detained and to bring the military to our streets to respond to protests.

Make your voice heard without resorting to violence, vandalism, or interference with law enforcement. This is an important time to support your community with information that empowers people to stay safe and prepared.

Know your rights fact sheets are available in: English, Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, Filipino, Hindi, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Tagalog, and Ukrainian.

California law is clear and prudent

State and local law enforcement agencies do not participate in these reckless and indiscriminate immigration raids. Their focus is on keeping people safe and preventing crime, not tearing families apart and threatening working people. State law requires them to cooperate only with federal immigration enforcement for people who have been convicted of dangerous crimes, including those leaving state prisons.

California has taken action, including enacting recent legislation to help keep people safe and push back against Trump and Stephen Miller's reckless "secret police" tactics in California.

• Schools: Families will be notified when immigration enforcement comes on school campuses, and student information and classrooms are protected from ICE — and require a judicial warrant or court order to be accessed.
• Hospitals: Emergency rooms and other nonpublic areas in a public hospital are off limits to immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant or court order, and immigration information collected by a health care provider is protected as medical information.
• Due process: Funding immigration attorneys and assistance for immigrants so they can keep or apply for legal status, and have their day in court to prevent their wrongful detention and deportation.  

Trump's actions have a chilling effect – the state's economy is likely to contract later this year due to fallout from global tariffs and immigration raids in Los Angeles and other cities that have rattled key sectors, including construction, hospitality, and agriculture, according to a UCLA Anderson forecast.

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Earlier this year, the Governor met with business owners and faith leaders (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/07/16/governor-newsom-calls-on-trump-to-end-los-angeles-militarization-shares-community-resources/) in the Los Angeles area to discuss the economic and societal impact indiscriminate federal immigration actions have had on their communities.

Mass deportations (https://www.bayareaeconomy.org/report/economic-impact-of-mass-deportation-in-california/) in California could slash $275 billion from the state's economy and eliminate $23 billion in annual tax revenue. The loss of immigrant labor would delay projects (including rebuilding Los Angeles after the wildfires), reduce food supply, and drive up costs. Undocumented (https://itep.org/undocumented-immigrants-taxes-2024/) immigrants contributed $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022 — a number that would rise to $10.3 billion if these taxpayers could apply to work lawfully.

Press releases (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/press-releases/), Public safety (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/content-types/public-safety/), Recent news (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/recent-news/), Top story (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/top-story/)

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