GOV GAVIN NEWSOM: Our democracy is threatened by Donald Trump

Over the past two weeks, federal agents conducted large-scale workplace raids around Southern California. They jumped out of unmarked vans, indiscriminately grabbing people off the street, chasing people in agricultural fields. A woman, 9 months pregnant, was arrested in LA; she had to be hospitalized after being released. A family with three children, including a three-year-old, was held for two days in an office basement without sufficient food or water. 

Several people taken in the raids were deported the same day they were arrested, raising serious due process concerns. U.S. citizens have been harassed and detained. And we know that ICE is increasingly detaining thousands of people with no other criminal charges or convictions: Those arrested with no other criminal charges or convictions rose from about 860 in January to 7,800 this month – a more than 800% increase. Meanwhile, those arrested and detained with criminal charges or convictions rose at the much lower rate of 91%. Trump is lying about focusing on “the worst of the worst.” 

While California is no stranger to immigration enforcement, what we’re seeing is a dangerous ploy for headlines by an administration that believes in cruelty and intimidation. Instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and border security – a strategy both parties have long supported – the Trump administration is pushing mass deportations, targeting hardworking immigrant families, regardless of their roots or risk, in order to meet quotas.

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In response, everyday Californians came out last week, and by the tens of thousands just this last Saturday, to protest their government’s actions – to exercise their constitutional right to free speech and assembly. 

Our system of democracy was created in direct opposition to the monarchy and designed to bolster individual freedom and liberty so that we are never again subjugated to a king. It is that idea, that sacred value, that is being destroyed. 

California, the home of the free speech movement, is no stranger to such demonstrations. Our law enforcement officers are well-trained to provide security, ensure order, and intervene when necessary. Last weekend, state and local authorities deployed law enforcement officers, including those from the California Highway Patrol, the LAPD, and the sheriff’s department. Although there were incidents of violence and property damage, state and local law enforcement officials restored and maintained order.

Those who become violent and destructive – vandalizing property, trying to attack police officers – will be apprehended and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We do not tolerate criminal behavior.

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But we know that President Donald Trump is not opposed to lawlessness and violence, so long as it serves him. His supposed concern for the men and women in uniform is not based on their loyalty to this country and its people, but to him and his cause. What more evidence do we need than January 6 – and his pardons for those involved, including those who violently assaulted police officers that day?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an address on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.  (Office of California Governor via AP)

So it’s no surprise that – without any request or input from me – he illegally commandeered 4,000 of our state’s National Guard members to deploy on our streets. It was only five years ago that President Trump himself said: “We have to go by the laws … we can’t call in the National Guard, unless we are requested by a governor.” 

Then, at a moment best timed to further inflame the situation, he deployed more than 700 active duty U.S. Marines. These are men and women trained in foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement. We honor their service and their bravery. But we do not want our streets militarized by our own Armed Forces. With this act, President Trump has betrayed our soldiers, the American people, and our core traditions; soldiers are being ordered to patrol the very same American communities they swore to protect in wars overseas. 

The deployment of federal soldiers in L.A. doesn’t protect our communities – it traumatizes them. Kids are afraid to attend their own graduations. People are afraid to go to work. They are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, and seamstresses. These are not criminals, these are families; this is not public safety, this is tyranny.

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California will continue to fight on behalf of all our people, including in the courts. The president knows it, that’s why he’s attacking us so aggressively. We’ve filed 26 lawsuits against the Trump administration, and already, we’ve successfully secured a federal court order calling out Trump’s illegal takeover of the California National Guard and militarization of Los Angeles. 

This is still far from over. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted an emergency temporary restraining order to stop President Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard, Thursday, June 12, 2025, at the California State Supreme Court building in San Francisco.  (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting the most vulnerable. But they do not stop there. Trump and his loyalists thrive on division because it allows them to consolidate power and exert even greater control. If some of us can be snatched off the streets without a warrant, based only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us are safe. 

We are in a perilous moment. We have a sitting president who believes he is bound by no law, including our Constitution. In just over 140 days, he has fired government watchdogs that could hold him accountable for corruption and fraud. He’s declared war on culture, on history, on science, and on knowledge itself. Databases are disappearing, archives are being raided, and universities are being told what they can teach. The judicial branch and the rule of law are under siege. Journalists and news organizations are targets.

This is about far more than L.A. It’s about more than California. This is about all of us – it’s about you.

U.S. National Guard are deployed around downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following an immigration raid protest the night before.  (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

When Donald Trump asserted blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. California may be first, but it won’t be the last. Other states are next. Democracy is next.

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His administration has manhandled and handcuffed U.S. Senator Alex Padilla for asking the Secretary of Homeland Security a question. For doing his job. Newark Mayor Ras Barakawas was arrested as he accompanied members of Congress to inspect a federal immigration detention center. Rep. LaMonica McIver has now been indicted in connection with the same incident. 

Our system of democracy was created in direct opposition to the monarchy and designed to bolster individual freedom and liberty so that we are never again subjugated to a king. It is that idea, that sacred value, that is being destroyed. 

But our greatest strength has always been with the people. It’s time for all of us to stand up. 

Former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said it best: “In a democracy, the most important political office is that of the private citizen.” Not the office of the president, nor of the governor. But it is you, the people, who are most important. It is your voice that should be loudest. 

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Many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress, and fear. But you are the antidote to that fear and anxiety. What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence. 

Do not give in to him. Do not let him win. If we stand together, as neighbors, as communities, as states, we will win. 

This column is adapted from Gov. Newsom’s “Democracy at a Crossroads” address on June 10.