California’s far-left Governor Gavin Newsom continued his all-out-war with the Trump administration over immigration this week; pardoning former felons and refugees the White House is seeking to deport.
“Newsom adopted a policy of his predecessor, former Gov. Jerry Brown, to use his state constitutional authority to issue pardons to shield immigrants targeted by federal immigration officials,” reports the Los Angeles Times.
“The pardons are an unmistakable rebuke to President Trump, whose fiery anti-immigrant rhetoric and demands for a giant wall along the U.S.-Mexico border have been central to the escalating political feud between Newsom and the White House,” adds the article.
“I’m constantly trying to understand the moment we’re living in, the xenophobia, the nativism that marks the populism of this moment,” Newsom said. “Any of us who are students of history know that it’s not without precedent. It’s not novel. It’s hardly new. It’s very familiar.”
One of the refugees -originally from Cambodia- was arrested by federal immigration agents in March.
The man was convicted for solicitation to commit murder in 2001.
The pardons come just months after Newsom vowed to sue the Trump administration for declaring a “national emergency” along the US-Mexico border.
“President Trump is manufacturing a crisis and declaring a made-up ‘national emergency’ in order to seize power and subvert the constitution,” said Newsom following the President’s press conference. “Our message back to the White House is simple and clear: California will see you in court.”
“President Trump got one thing right this morning about his declaration, when he said ‘I didn’t have to do this,’” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “In fact, he can’t do this… This is a president showing his disdain for the rule of law and our U.S. Constitution.”
Read the full report at the Los Angeles Times.