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As California voters hole to take their adjacent politician successful 2026, migration remains 1 of the state's astir divisive and intimately watched issues.
Over respective weeks successful September, CBS News California Investigates analogous Julie Watts sat down with each campaigner successful the contention to sermon their views connected a assortment of issues, including immigration.
In this segment, we analyse 2 nuanced and often misunderstood aspects of California's argumentation connected wellness attraction for undocumented immigrants and California's Sanctuary State law.
The eleven remaining candidates — Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, Ian Calderon, Stephen J. Cloobeck, Steve Hilton, Katie Porter, Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa, Butch Ware, Betty Yee and Leo Zacky — stock wherever they basal connected these issues.
The Candidates California Governor connected Immigration | Side-by-Side Comparison by Julie Watts Investigates on YouTube
Where bash you basal connected ICE practice involving convicted, undocumented offenders?
California's sanctuary authorities law, established nether Senate Bill 54 successful 2017, limits erstwhile section and authorities instrumentality enforcement tin assistance national migration authorities by restricting holds, transfers, and notifications to ICE.
The instrumentality is designed to abstracted section policing from national migration enforcement and to support owed process for all.
Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat who antecedently defended California's sanctuary laws successful tribunal arsenic lawyer general, repeatedly stressed that the national authorities cannot unit the authorities to execute national migration enforcement.
"We bash not let unsafe radical to beryllium connected our streets," helium said, noting that California already notifies ICE of individuals successful custody but cannot legally "hold them" aft their condemnation without crossing the enactment into national detention.
"The national authorities cannot compel the State of California, and I'm saying this to you not conscionable due to the fact that I'm pontificating, I'm saying it because, arsenic lawyer general, I went to tribunal and won my lawsuit connected this," Becerra said. "The national authorities tin not archer america successful California to bash national migration enforcement with them, for them."
Hilton, a Republican candidate, said helium supports afloat practice with ICE "100 percent," arguing that enforcing national migration instrumentality prevents riskier operations successful section communities.
"Remember, this is national law… What is the constituent of passing laws if you don't enforce them?" helium said.
Hilton besides criticized SB 54, saying helium "totally disagrees with it" and noting that a national situation to the instrumentality is underway.
Bianco, a Republican and Riverside County sheriff, besides backed broader cooperation. Bianco besides said helium is suing the authorities to guarantee California's sanctuary authorities presumption is either amended oregon "done distant with."
"Every azygous idiosyncratic that is present illegally, that successful summation commits a transgression and ends up successful jail, should beryllium deported," helium said.
Bianco emphasized that existent deportations hap lone aft conviction, but said California should see a strategy "that works for everybody" portion stopping abbreviated of endorsing pre-conviction holds.
Zacky, a Republican, said sheriffs "are the eventual arbiters of the Constitution," arguing they person a work to enactment with ICE adjacent erstwhile idiosyncratic is "arrested but not yet convicted." When asked specifically astir convicted offenders successful CDCR custody, helium agreed that practice should occur.
Cloobeck, a Democrat, said the enactment for him is conviction.
"You interruption our laws… you're going to get your time successful court," helium said, adding that those convicted and undocumented should beryllium removed.
Villaraigosa, a Democrat and erstwhile Los Angeles mayor, focused his effect connected existing exemptions successful authorities law.
"What the instrumentality says presently is that we bash cooperate with convulsive and superior felons," helium said. "And I bash deliberation we should cooperate with them."
Democratic campaigner Porter said California's existent argumentation "is due the mode it is," pointing to built-in exceptions for convulsive crimes. She said enactment for practice betwixt the authorities situation strategy and ICE "depends connected the conviction," emphasizing that authorities instrumentality already allows practice successful definite cases.
Thurmond, California's superintendent of nationalist acquisition who is besides moving arsenic a Democrat, said instrumentality enforcement officials "have a responsibility" to enactment with ICE erstwhile a judicial warrant is involved. Thurmond continued, saying that helium believes authorities "agencies should beryllium doing ICE's job."
"I deliberation we've established a contented successful California wherever our instrumentality enforcement agencies don't enactment with ICE arsenic it relates to enforcement, and that's wherefore we are the benignant of authorities that we are," helium said.
Democratic campaigner Calderon, a erstwhile authorities assemblymember, said voters overwhelmingly hold determination should beryllium "consequences" for undocumented radical who perpetrate crimes. While helium said California should coordinate with the national government, helium besides cautioned that immigrants are excessively often "demonized" by Washington.
Democratic erstwhile State Controller Yee supported allowing the CDCR to clasp convicted individuals until ICE arrives.
"These are convicted criminals," Yee said, and aboriginal added, "for that precise population, absolutely."
Green Party campaigner Ware, by contrast, rejected ICE practice entirely, adjacent for convicted offenders.
"I bash not judge that the solution is to further reenforce the constabulary powers of a national authorities that is engaged successful monolithic usurpation of each of our civilian liberties," Ware said. "I'm going to find a amended mode to bash that."
Where bash you basal connected wellness attraction entree for undocumented immigrants successful the asylum oregon residency process?
When the speech shifted to wellness attraction for undocumented immigrants, specifically radical entering done ineligible crossings and legitimately proceeding done the asylum oregon residency process, candidates again divided on ideological lines.
Becerra said the laws are "pretty clear" that specified individuals "already person entree to care," adding that fearfulness stoked by nationalist authorities has kept eligible families from seeking aesculapian help.
"Donald Trump is scaring everyone, including those who person a ineligible close to entree wellness care, and that's the unfortunate portion due to the fact that a batch of folks aren't sending their children successful to get attraction due to the fact that they're truthful afraid," Becerra said. "That's wrong, and we volition not licence that successful California."
Yee said she supports entree to "a basal level of wellness care" for immigrants successful these circumstances.
"I deliberation we tin statement what that level should be, but my fearfulness is that if we should person a nationalist wellness pandemic oregon conscionable immoderate different nationalist wellness emergency, what would hap erstwhile we person this colonisation and this assemblage present successful California that are not receiving wellness care?" Yee continued.
Thurmond gave his afloat enactment to providing wellness attraction to each undocumented immigrants, noting helium voted for specified expansions arsenic a legislator.
"No substance however you consciousness astir it, you cannot contradict the costs to our systems erstwhile radical without security spell to an exigency country to get care," helium said.
Villaraigosa, similar galore others, noted that the authorities already covers exigency attraction for undocumented immigrants and claimed that California "spends much connected exigency wellness attraction for those folks than we would connected Medi-Cal and preventative."
Ware said California should connection what "every civilized nine connected Earth has," supporting wellness attraction that is "free oregon affordable" for each radical surviving successful the state.
"How galore radical don't question retired attraction routinely due to the fact that they're not definite however they're going to spell astir paying for it?" Ware said. "It does not person to beryllium that way. We tin perfectly equilibrium the fund and wage for it."
Porter said she supports Medi-Cal sum for asylees and individuals actively pursuing asylum oregon residency, calling it "appropriate."
Hilton said "everyone should person entree to wellness care," arguing the U.S. should not beryllium a "barbaric society," though helium noted that different states connection sum "in a overmuch much constricted way."
Calderon said sum should beryllium extended lone aft ensuring the authorities tin conscionable the needs of citizens and imperishable residents.
"Absolutely, we should effort to help, but that's lone if we person the resources," helium said.
Cloobeck shared the aforesaid sentiment arsenic agelong arsenic the authorities has "a balanced budget," adding that "we instrumentality attraction of household first."
Bianco described the taxable of wellness attraction for undocumented immigrants arsenic "a pugnacious question." He acknowledged that radical successful asylum oregon residency proceedings "do acceptable in" nether existent instrumentality and said helium would necessitate that recipients "had to beryllium working" if they person authorities sum during those processes.
Zacky said helium supports "some level of services" for immigrants moving done those ineligible processes but not "carte blanche."
As portion of our ongoing governmental accountability series, CBS News California is helping voters comparison California's apical gubernatorial candidates side-by-side — not by talking points, but by however they respond to nuanced follow-up questions and opposing viewpoints connected the issues that substance astir to voters.
In the archetypal portion of this series, the candidates shared their stances connected Proposition 50, California's arguable program to redraw its legislature maps mid-decade, which was projected by CBS News to walk successful aboriginal November.
You tin ticker each candidate's afloat answers side-by-side connected our CBS News California Investigates YouTube playlist. It's a first-of-its-kind instrumentality to assistance voters comparison not conscionable what the candidates say, but however they respond to questions connected these issues.
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