❓WHAT HAPPENED: California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced an additional $35 million in humanitarian funding to support illegal immigrants amid increased federal immigration deportation efforts under President Donald J. Trump.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Gov. Newsom, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
📍WHEN & WHERE: California, February 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “While the federal government targets hardworking families, California stands with them—uniting partners and funding local communities to help support their neighbors.” – Gavin Newsom
🎯IMPACT: The funding will provide legal aid and other resources to illegal immigrants, prioritizing non-citizens over American taxpayers.
Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom‘s administration has announced the allocation of $35 million in humanitarian funding to assist illegal immigrants facing deportation amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. This supplements the $125 million previously committed to immigration-related legal services.
In a statement, Newsom said, “While the federal government targets hardworking families, California stands with them—uniting partners and funding local communities to help support their neighbors.” The funds will support nonprofit groups in delivering legal aid, food assistance, and other essential support to migrants.
Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R) noted that the spending favors illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens, remarking, “If you were audited by the IRS and found to owe money and back taxes, as a citizen, you couldn’t say, ‘Well, I want a free lawyer to fight the federal government.’”
On the federal side, the Trump administration’s immigration policies have resulted in more than 675,000 deportations since January 2025, along with an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has emphasized the positive impacts of the deportations, stating, “Countless lives have been saved, communities have been strengthened, and the American people have been put first again.”
Tensions persist over California’s sanctuary policies, with ICE issuing detainers for over 33,000 individuals in state custody. Outgoing DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized the approach, stating, “Governor Newsom and his fellow California sanctuary politicians are releasing murderers, pedophiles, and drug traffickers back into our neighborhoods and putting American lives at risk.”
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