Here we go again with the Democrat performative nonsense-over-practical policies gibberish.
You may recall that billionaire liberal donor-turned-candidate Tom Steyer is one of several Democrats running for California governor. Earlier this month, he vowed to prosecute ICE agents along with White House adviser Stephen Millier and former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
The Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, of course, forbids this insanity. But that doesn’t seem to matter to Steyer, who just doubled down on his vow:
Watch me. https://t.co/SWyc7u3ysF
— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) May 25, 2026
“Watch me,” he says. Okay. We’ll do just that:
There is a certain kind of politician who has learned that saying something loudly and confidently is a perfectly adequate substitute for saying something true. California’s gubernatorial race has produced a bumper crop of them.
Tom Steyer, the billionaire-liberal-donor-turned candidate, has called for abolishing ICE and jailing its agents, describing the federal law enforcement agency as a “violent extremist group.”
Former LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa compared ICE officers to the Ku Klux Klan, and state Schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond promised to have ICE agents arrested. Former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra vowed to “police the immigration police.“
These are the leading candidates to become governor of the most populous state in the union.
One might ask: Can they actually do any of this? The answer, rooted not in opinion but in two centuries of constitutional law, is no.
And yet the question almost never gets asked, because the performance is the point.
Under the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the US Constitution, and under longstanding Supreme Court precedent, states may not criminally prosecute federal officers for actions taken in the lawful course of their federal duties, provided the officer reasonably believed those actions were necessary to fulfill that duty.
This is not an obscure technicality. It is the foundational architecture of American federalism, and it has been settled law for longer than most of these candidates have been alive.
My emphasis there.
Also, what happened to the Democrats’ “No Kings” antics? Because vowing to arrest federal agents doing their duly appointed jobs sure sounds…king-like.
I’m tickled to hear you say that, really. I look forward to Trump imposing reconstruction on an insurrectionist California state government
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) May 25, 2026
Yes, President Trump should absolutely do this. It might be the last chance we have to save the most populous state in the union.
“I’m going to arrest federal agents enforcing federal policy I don’t like. I also strongly believe in democracy” ???
— Jon ? (@JonnyMicro) May 25, 2026
Yeah, Democrats are a misnamed party; they don’t really believe in “democracy.” They believe in power.
Someone tell Tom Steyer that no matter how tough he wants to try portraying himself as, states have no jurisdiction over federal law enforcement and therefore can’t arrest them.
— Leftism (@LeftismForU) May 25, 2026
Of course, Steyer won’t be the one trying to do the actual arresting. He’ll order his state police to do it – and they’ll either refuse or they’ll try and they will get arrested.
But my guess is, not one police officer in California is gonna try to arrest armed federal agents. So again, this is all performative – for the increasingly left-wing zombies of the Domestic Terrorist Party.
