A federal appeals court just slapped down California Governor Gavin Newsom’s attempt to block ICE agents from doing their jobs — and the ruling was unanimous. Every single judge on the panel said the same thing: this is unconstitutional. Not a close call. Not a 2-1 squeaker where we got lucky with the panel draw. Unanimous.
Even the liberal judges couldn’t find a way to bail him out on this one. That’s how bad it was. Congratulations, Gavin — you played yourself.
The law in question was Newsom’s so-called “No Vigilantes Act,” which — and we’re not making this name up — required plainclothes federal immigration agents to wear visible identification during enforcement operations. Because apparently, in Gavin Newsom’s California, federal law enforcement officers are the “vigilantes.” Not the drug cartels. Not the gangs. Not the people who crossed the border illegally. The ICE agents.
That’s like calling the fire department arsonists. Only a California Democrat could pull that off with a straight face.
The whole scheme was designed to hamstring ICE operations. If agents have to announce themselves with visible ID before conducting enforcement, you’ve basically given every illegal alien in the state a head start. “Oh look, there’s a guy with a big ICE badge — better run!” That’s not law enforcement. That’s a game of tag where one side has to count to a hundred first.
But Newsom didn’t care about whether it would actually work or whether it was legal. He cared about the press conference. He cared about the headline. “California Governor Stands Up to Trump’s ICE” — that’s all this ever was. A press release disguised as legislation.
The court saw right through it.
Federal immigration enforcement is — and this should surprise exactly nobody — a FEDERAL responsibility. States don’t get to pass laws telling federal agents how to dress or when they’re allowed to do their jobs. This is Constitutional Law 101 stuff. The Supremacy Clause isn’t a suggestion. It’s not a polite request from Washington. It means that when federal law and state law conflict, federal law wins. Every time.
Newsom knows this. His lawyers know this. Every first-year law student in America knows this. But Gavin wasn’t trying to win in court — he was trying to win on CNN. He wanted the footage of himself signing the bill. He wanted the soundbites about “protecting immigrant communities.” He wanted to position himself as the anti-Trump resistance hero for whatever his next political move is.
Well, here’s your footage now, Gavin: a unanimous panel of federal judges telling you that your law is garbage.
This is part of a pattern with Newsom that would be hilarious if it weren’t costing California taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees. He passes some flashy unconstitutional law, gets his media moment, and then loses in court. Over and over and over. He’s like a boxer who keeps walking into the same right hook but loves the walk to the ring so much that he doesn’t care about getting knocked out.
California can’t house its homeless population. San Francisco looks like a zombie movie. The state budget has a deficit that would make a Third World country blush. But Newsom has plenty of time and taxpayer money to fight losing legal battles against the federal government because it makes him look good on MSNBC.
Priorities!
The unanimous ruling is the cherry on top. In legal terms, unanimous means there wasn’t even a respectable argument on the other side. When a panel splits 2-1, you can at least say there was a debate. When it’s unanimous, the court is basically saying: “We all agree this is nonsense and we’d like our afternoon back.”
For the rest of us who believe in enforcing immigration law — and that includes the overwhelming majority of Americans, by the way — this is a clean win. ICE can continue operating in California without Newsom’s little costume requirements. Federal law still supersedes whatever fantasy legislation Sacramento cooks up. And the courts have once again confirmed that governors don’t get to nullify federal authority just because they don’t like the president.
Newsom’s hair gel held up better than his legal argument. That’s about the nicest thing we can say about this whole episode.
On to the next one, Gavin. We’ll be here when you lose that one too.