Eric Swalwell promises to arrest ICE agents on kidnapping charges if elected California governor

California Representative and gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell said he would pursue criminal charges against federal immigration agents if elected governor, arguing that ICE officers operating in the state should be charged with offenses including kidnapping and assault.

Swalwell launched his bid for governor last month, seeking to replace incumbent Governor Gavin Newsom. During an appearance on MSNOW (formerly MSNBC), Swalwell was asked what he would bring to the role and pointed to opposition to immigration enforcement efforts under the Trump administration aimed at detaining individuals in the country illegally.

“Well, you have immense powers as governor of California and your responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in the state,” Swalwell said. “So if the president is going to send ICE agents to chase immigrants through the fields where they work, what I’m going to do is make sure that they take off their masks and show their faces, that they show their identification.”

“And if they commit crimes, that they’re going to be charged with crimes,” he continued. “If it’s falsely imprisoning people, if it’s kidnapping, if it’s assault, battery, they’re going to be held accountable.”

Swalwell also suggested using state authority over driver’s licenses as a way to pressure federal agents.

“I also think, if the governor has the ability to issue driver’s licenses to people in California, if you’re going to wear a mask and not identify yourself, you’re not going to be eligible to drive a vehicle in California,” Swalwell suggested. “There’s a lot you can do, but most importantly, you have to go on offense. Otherwise, the most vulnerable in our community will always be on defense.”

California lawmakers have increasingly clashed with the Trump administration over its crackdown on violent illegal immigrants. Lawmakers recently passed legislation barring federal officers from wearing face coverings during operations, despite federal officials saying masks are used to prevent ICE agents from being doxxed and their families from being targeted.

Earlier this year, ICE raided a California marijuana farm and detained 361 illegal immigrants, including individuals convicted of crimes such as rape and child molestation. Despite those arrests, the operation was condemned by Democratic lawmakers. Newsom criticized ICE’s use of tear gas during the raid, describing it as “kids running from tear gas,” and said one child was “crying on the phone, their mother was just taken from the fields.”