LOS ANGELES, June 9, 2025 — California Governor Gavin Newsom publicly challenged the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement over the weekend, daring the administration’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, to arrest him during a fiery interview aired Sunday. The governor’s statement came as federal-state tensions reached a boiling point over controversial immigration raids and the unprecedented deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles.
“Come after me. Arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy,” Newsom said in an interview with NBC’s Jacob Soboroff. He later posted the clip to social media, igniting a political firestorm that now threatens to redefine federal-state relations on immigration enforcement.
Timeline of Escalation
The dispute began escalating Saturday when Homan, a former ICE director now serving under President Trump as Border Czar, told NBC that he would not hesitate to arrest officials who obstruct federal immigration operations.
“You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien,” Homan said. “It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.”
Soboroff asked specifically about Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Homan’s reply was blunt: “I’ll say it about anybody.”
Within 24 hours, roughly 300 National Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles—without a formal request from the state government. This marks the first time a president has invoked federal power to send troops into a state without gubernatorial consent since the 1960s civil rights era.
State Response and Community Fallout
Newsom responded with a formal letter Sunday evening demanding the withdrawal of federal troops and the rescinding of Trump’s deployment memo. In the same NBC interview, he accused Trump of fabricating chaos in Los Angeles as a pretext to increase federal power.
“The fear, the horror—[who] the hell is this guy?” Newsom asked, referring to Homan. “I don’t give a damn. But I care about this community.”
The governor’s office stated that it is assessing legal avenues to challenge the deployment and protect local jurisdictions that choose not to comply with federal immigration enforcement.
Mayor Karen Bass also issued a statement: “The people of Los Angeles will not be used as political pawns in a national theater of division. We demand respect for state sovereignty and the dignity of our residents.”
National Context and Legal Questions
The federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants comes as Trump’s administration pushes a more aggressive approach to border enforcement. According to DHS data, over 41 million individuals in the U.S. live in mixed-status households. Mass raids not only target undocumented individuals but also create widespread fear in entire communities.
Legal scholars are raising concerns over the constitutional limits of federal power. “Deploying federal troops in defiance of state leadership, and threatening to arrest elected officials, edges dangerously close to a constitutional crisis,” said Dr. Camille Torres, professor of constitutional law at Stanford University.
A Deeper Battle Over Power
In his closing remarks, Newsom suggested the immigration raids were merely the surface of a deeper conflict over the soul of American democracy.
“This is part of that ongoing play that is unfolding in front of our eyes, under the guise of immigration, but it’s much deeper than that,” he said. “This guy has abandoned the core principles of our democracy. He’s on a cultural binge. He’s rewriting history. Censoring historical facts.”
Addressing the president directly, Newsom said: “Where’s your decency, Mr. President—stop. It’s indecent. It’s immoral… This is a serious moment. It requires serious leadership. It is time for you to be commander in chief of America.”
Have you or your community been affected by these immigration raids or troop deployments? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments below.
