California’s Democratic-controlled Senate advanced a civil rights measure Tuesday that would make it easier for people to sue federal agents over rights violations. The bill, called the “No Kings Act,” passed 30 to 10 along party lines after more than 90 minutes of floor debate. The legislation was shaped by Democratic concerns about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement escalation, underscored by the shooting death of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and ICU nurse, by federal agents in Minnesota last weekend.
The bill is one of several measures California legislators are advancing to push back against federal immigration enforcement, continuing a pattern of state-level resistance that Gov. Gavin Newsom began last year. The effort reflects deepening tension between state and federal authorities over immigration policy and the limits of federal enforcement authority.
California Advances Civil Rights Bill Against Federal Immigration Enforcement
Sens. Scott Wiener and Aisha Wahab, both Bay Area Democrats, brought the measure to the floor. “It’s a sad statement on where we are in this country that this has to be a partisan issue,” Wiener said before the vote. “Red, blue, everyone has constitutional rights. And everyone should have the ability to hold people accountable when they violate those rights.”
The vote reflected the partisan divide in the state legislature over immigration enforcement policy. All 30 votes in favor came from Democrats; all 10 opposed came from Republicans.
Additional Measures in Pipeline
California lawmakers are advancing several companion bills designed to curb federal immigration enforcement practices. Assemblymember Isaac Bryan introduced a measure to prohibit local law enforcement from taking side jobs with the Department of Homeland Security as federal immigration agents. “We don’t collaborate in the kidnapping of our own community members, but there is a loophole in state law,” Bryan said at a press conference earlier this month.
Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes introduced legislation to prevent federal immigration agents from making what the bill describes as “unannounced and indiscriminate” arrests in courthouses. The measure was introduced two weeks after a federal judge ordered the U.S. Justice Department to halt civil arrests in immigration courts across Northern California, citing “chilling effects, safety risks, and impacts on hearing attendance.”
Assemblymember Matt Haney introduced a separate bill that would place a 50 percent tax on profits from for-profit immigration detention companies. Over 5,700 people are currently detained across seven immigration detention centers in California, three of which are located in Kern County.
Building on Year-Old Resistance Strategy
The legislative push represents an escalation of state-level resistance that Gov. Gavin Newsom began last year. In 2025, the governor signed a slate of laws designed to resist the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, including a measure prohibiting officers from wearing masks during enforcement operations and bills limiting ICE access to schools and hospitals. Some of those earlier laws are facing legal challenges in federal court.
Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, said the new bills offer “practical solutions that are squarely within the state’s control.” She added that the state should also ensure funding for attorneys representing people facing deportation and examine companies profiting from detention and deportation services.
Republican Opposition
Republican Senator Tony Strickland of Huntington Beach criticized the bills, saying legislators should focus on California-specific problems rather than prepare for “hypothetical scenarios.” He also argued that cities and states should reverse sanctuary policies that he said hamper coordination between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
“No one likes to see what’s happening in Minnesota. No one wants to see that coming to California,” Strickland said, referring to the shooting death of federal agents shooting Alex Pretti. “But the answer is not these bills.”
State-Federal Dynamics
Kevin Johnson, an immigration law professor and former dean of the UC Davis School of Law, said state and local governments are attempting to navigate competing pressures as the Trump administration escalates enforcement operations.
“While there’s concern and fear in immigrant communities, there’s some solace being given by the support expressed by state and local officials,” Johnson said. “As the Trump administration escalates its aggressive deportation tactics across the nation, California has escalated its resistance.”
The tension reflects broader questions about the balance of enforcement authority between state and federal governments, particularly as the Trump administration has threatened to withdraw federal funding from jurisdictions that limit cooperation with immigration enforcement.