California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer has released a detailed immigration platform that goes significantly further left than Governor Gavin Newsom’s current policies. The plan calls for abolishing ICE, jailing its agents, providing taxpayer-funded legal support for illegal immigrants, and directing the state to defy a recent Supreme Court ruling on immigration enforcement.
The proposals, highlighted in an X post by journalist Bill Melugin, have triggered strong reactions online and intensified debate over California’s immigration stance ahead of the 2026 governor’s race.
The announcement was posted on X by journalist Bill Melugin, who shared screenshots and details of California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer’s newly released immigration platform.
In the post, Steyer outlines a series of proposals that go beyond current California policy under Governor Gavin Newsom. These include abolishing ICE, jailing ICE agents and treating them “like the mob,” providing taxpayer-funded legal representation for illegal immigrants, and directing the state to ignore a recent Supreme Court ruling on immigration enforcement.
Steyer states that “California should take matters into our own hands and extend legal protections to its residents, despite the federal government’s failure,” adding, “This is about our right as a state to protect our residents.”
Online Reactions to Steyer’s Immigration Platform
Several commenters highlighted the contrast with Governor Newsom’s record, noting that “Gov. Newsom has never suggested abolishing ICE, he allows CA state prisons to cooperate with ICE and honor ICE detainers… and he has vetoed bills from CA Democrats that sought to end that prison cooperation.”
Others described the platform as more extreme, with comments such as “Tom Steyer is worse than Gavin Newsom on immigration control” and “Tom Steyer starting out fighting for the imagined ‘rights’ of illegal aliens.”
Some users raised concerns about Steyer’s candidacy itself, asking, “Do any Dems have a problem with an otherwise unelectable billionaire purchasing the office of Governor in CA for 100s of millions of dollars?”
Others focused on the broader implications for the state, with one writing, “If Californians don’t wake up and vote in Steve Hilton, then there’s no saving that state,” and another warning that without stronger immigration control, “this state will 100% go to shits.”
The proposals have made waves because they are a dramatic policy change in a high-profile campaign already laying bare a fault line among California Democrats over how to approach immigration enforcement in the lead-up to the 2026 race.
These proposals have placed Steyer’s challenge to Newsom more firmly in the limelight as the 2026 California gubernatorial race intensifies. It is now sparking a wider online discussion about the state’s immigration policy and where the Democratic Party is heading in California.
