standardnewsdaily.com — A billionaire Democrat running California is openly vowing to “put ICE in jail,” turning federal law enforcement into the enemy while illegal immigration and crime are already straining communities.
Story Snapshot
- Tom Steyer’s campaign materials call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “criminal organization” and pledge to “arrest and prosecute ICE agents and their leadership.”[1][2]
- His plan seeks new California laws, a special investigative unit, and state prosecutions targeting federal officers for doing their jobs.[1][2]
- The campaign provides rhetoric about “kidnapping” and “brutal” conduct, but no case-specific proof naming individual agents, dates, or actual charges.[1][2]
- Legal questions over the Supremacy Clause and federal officer immunity make his promises look more like political theater than a serious, workable policy.[1][2]
Steyer’s Promise: Use State Power Against Federal ICE Agents
California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer has built a central campaign message around treating federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as criminals, promising to “arrest and prosecute ICE agents and their leadership” if he becomes governor.[1] His campaign press release for an ad titled “Kidnapping” says he “commits to prosecuting their criminal behavior as Governor,” explicitly framing routine immigration enforcement as criminal conduct that must be punished by the state of California.[1]
On his campaign issue page, Steyer writes that “you can’t reform a criminal organization,” labeling ICE itself as a criminal operation that is “terrorizing Californians.”[2] That page declares that Trump’s agents “brutalize our neighbors,” and references alleged murders and unlawful detentions as justification for his push to hold agents personally liable.[2] In a video clip, he reinforces the message by calling ICE a “criminal organization” and urging that agents be prosecuted for racial profiling and other alleged abuses.[3]
Inside the Plan: New Laws, Special Unit, and State Prosecutions
Steyer’s policy framework relies on using California’s laws and institutions to build a parallel enforcement system aimed not at illegal immigrants, but at the federal agents who try to remove them.[1][2] His plan calls for “aggressive legislation” to outlaw racial profiling by law enforcement, while specifically empowering the California Attorney General to hold ICE agents and leadership “accountable for violent, illegal conduct on the job,” including criminal liability.[1][2]
The campaign says he would create a “special investigative unit” dedicated to monitoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in California, including detention facilities, and to “collect the evidence for the California Attorney General to prosecute ICE agents and their leadership.”[2] He also promises expanded taxpayer-funded legal-defense infrastructure for those detained by ICE, plus a statewide “Know Your Rights” campaign advising residents how to resist or navigate federal enforcement actions.[2]
Missing Evidence and Serious Constitutional Hurdles
While Steyer’s rhetoric is sweeping, his campaign materials do not supply the kind of evidence normally required to prosecute individuals, such as naming specific ICE agents, detailing incidents with dates and locations, or outlining particular criminal charges supported by witness statements or investigative records.[1][2] The materials instead rely on broad descriptions of “kidnapping,” “brutal” conduct, and “illegal attacks” without providing the incident-level documentation that would stand up in a criminal court.[1][2]
His issue page cites a July 2025 decision by the United States District Court for the Central District of California that found ICE agents engaged in racial and ethnic profiling, using that ruling to bolster his claim that ICE is acting unlawfully in the state.[2] However, his campaign does not present any legal memorandum explaining how California could overcome the Supremacy Clause, federal preemption, or federal officer immunity doctrines to criminally prosecute federal agents for on-duty actions undertaken under color of federal authority.[1][2]
What This Means for Conservatives: Immigration, Sovereignty, and Rule of Law
Steyer’s agenda fits a larger pattern where progressive activists brand federal law enforcement as “criminal” to delegitimize immigration enforcement itself, then call for state-level punishment when Washington does not match their open-border preferences.[1][2] Framing Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a criminal organization, rather than a federal agency executing laws passed by Congress, turns legitimate disagreements over policy into a direct attack on the rule of law and on officers tasked with protecting the nation’s borders.[2][3]
'Watch Me:' Tom Steyer Vows to Arrest ICE Agents in California Tom is a certified #WhackADoodle and he is the New Democrat https://t.co/lCMssRNjeN
— Common Sense Isn’t Common (@KibblesNBits) May 26, 2026
For conservatives, this raises several alarms: a powerful state like California asserting the right to jail federal officers for doing their jobs undercuts national sovereignty, invites constitutional crises, and sends a chilling message to anyone in law enforcement.[1][2] With the Trump administration now working to restore border security and support agents on the ground, proposals like Steyer’s highlight how deeply some on the left remain committed to weakening immigration enforcement, even if it means trying to criminalize the very people sworn to uphold federal law.[1][2]
Sources:
[1] Web – In New Ad, Steyer Calls to Abolish ICE and Prosecute Agents
[2] YouTube – ICE Is ‘Criminal’ – California Governor Candidate Tom Steyer
[3] Web – Stop ICE from terrorizing Californians | Tom Steyer for Governor
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