California governor signs in to law $50m to challenge Trump immigration plans Half allocated to state’s justice department while other half set aside for legal groups to defend immigrants.
Gavin Newsom, the California governor, signed laws on Friday setting aside $50m to help the state protect its policies from challenges by the Trump administration and defend immigrants amid the president’s mass-deportation plans.
One of the laws allocates $25m for the state’s department of justice to fight legal battles against the federal government, and another sets aside $25m in part for legal groups to defend immigrants facing possible deportation.
“This slush fund isn’t about solving any real problems – it’s a political stunt designed to distract from the urgent issues our state faces and it won’t bode well for fire victims,” the Republican state senate minority leader Brian Jones said in a statement earlier this week.
During his first presidency, Trump sparred with California over climate laws, water policy, immigrant rights and more, and the state filed or joined more than 100 legal actions against the administration.
