Two days after the re-election of President Donald Trump, California Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democrats called for California to “Trump-proof” itself — the process of enacting policies or measures at a state level to shield against potentially harmful federal policies from the Trump administration. Such policies include, but are not limited to, mass deportation of illegal immigrants, rollbacks on current efforts to prevent climate change and reproductive freedom. But California is not the only state to attempt to “Trump-proof”. Other Democratic-leaning states, such as Colorado, Massachusetts and New York similarly pushed for measures to fight against Trump’s expected policies and executive orders signed after his inauguration. “The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” Newsom said in a statement on Nov. 7, 2024.
However, experts say that the battles may be even more difficult, stating that Trump plans to bring back his policies from his first term, but in a more strategic way.
Trump carries out promises to mass deport illegal immigrants
On Oct. 27 in a New York City rally, nine days before the 2024 election, Trump said, “On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.”
In response, Newsom has pushed for a senate bill that would allocate $25 million to fund nonprofit organizations in California, protecting and supporting undocumented immigrants against the mass deportations. On Dec. 24, 2024, it was also reported that Newsom and Democrats had developed a draft plan for these individuals to provide further access to legal services, schooling and even local governments. However, some have doubts about whether Newsom’s plan will be able to fully protect undocumented immigrants from the upcoming anti-immigration efforts.
Trump’s administration followed through with their plans, with the president announcing in his Jan. 20 inaugural address that “all illegal entry will be halted” and that millions of “criminal aliens” will be deported. Subsequently, he shut down the Customs and Border Patrol One app that had allowed migrants and many asylum seekers to schedule immigration appointments at the United States border for the past four years. Thousands of incoming legal migrants had their appointments canceled as a result.
Additionally, Trump signed a bundle of executive orders cracking down on immigration. Executive orders allow the president to implement policies and make decisions without needing new legislation passed by Congress. Included in the 26 orders signed on inauguration day is one attempting to dismantle birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed in the Constitution. Senior U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour of Seattle quickly issued an order blocking the policy from taking effect for 14 days. The order will either need to be approved by the federal courts or passed as a constitutional amendment by Congress in order to take effect, which is unlikely given that there are already four states — Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington — seeking to block the order.
“Birthright citizenship is deeply ingrained in the Constitution,” said Dr. Cynthia Kaufman, a social justice studies professor at De Anza College. “The president can say that it’s gone and scare people, but laws and rules are powers frozen in time.”
California’s Democratic leadership seems unlikely to comply with the new order: in the Dec. 17 news briefing about immigrant protections in the state, California mentioned that they have pushed for new guidance and resources to support law enforcement, prosecutors and victims of xenophobic hate crimes.
Climate change efforts change with Trump’s new presidency
On the day of his inauguration, Trump announced his intent to lower inflation by making changes to the gas industry. His current plans are to lower overall gas prices in the U.S., refill strategy reserves, export more oil around the world and remove any current policy or limitation that blocks him from his gas goals.
“Californians are paying a devastating price for the climate crisis, as escalating disasters destroy entire communities and drive insurance costs through the roof,” said San Francisco Senator Wiener in a Jan. 27 press release. “Containing these costs is critical to our recovery and to the future of our state.”
“We have the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it,” Trump said in his Jan. 20 inauguration speech.
He also immediately withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, an international agreement aimed to reduce the effects of global warming. He stated his intention to end the Green New Deal and revoke the electrical vehicle mandate, with expressed hope to “save” the auto-vehicle industry and to challenge California’s mandate to end all gas vehicles by 2035 and achieve a net zero carbon pollution by 2045.
Trump is also considering ending the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a national agency created to support and protect citizens from hazards and provide disaster relief. Since January, Trump has questioned FEMA’s effectiveness in dealing with the wildfires and has suggested that the government directly send funds to states. On Jan 24., he established a 20-person committee via executive order to examine the agency.
Topics of climate change have also been highly discussed recently in the face of the Los Angeles fires this January. Responding to backward climate change progress, Gavin Newsome quickly released a Jan. 20 statement after Trump removed himself from the Paris Agreement, commenting “If you don’t believe in science, believe your own damn eyes” with clipped photos from the Los Angeles fires. On Jan. 23, Newsom also implemented a $2.5 billion fund to immediately “bolster ongoing response efforts and jumpstart recovery and rebuilding,” although it is uncertain whether this is enough to fully fund California’s wildfire response.
California doubles down on its pro-abortion stance
Trump campaigned with the policy of allowing states to legislate their own abortion rights but has not released policies regarding access to abortion pills. Regardless, some — including National Public Radio writer Selena Simmons-Duffin — predict that Trump may bring back the Comstock Act, an act used to limit abortion medication and restrict abortion rights silently. This theory is based on the actions Trump and his political supporters have taken since taking office.
When Ohio passed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion up to 20 weeks, Vice President J.D. Vance turned to X, posting: “There is something sociopathic about a political movement that tells young women (and men) that it is liberating to murder their own children.” Additionally, “abortion” search results are now missing from the Department of Health and Human Services, where there were previously 166 results.
Newsom and other California Democrats plan to prevent the Trump Administration’s potential legislation from challenging existing reproductive rights for Californians and other Americans. Historically, California has been known as a sanctuary for those who need access to an abortion. Lawmakers have spent the past few years passing policies to preserve access to abortions, including a $20 million grant to help fund travel for individuals in other states to travel to California and to protect insurance coverage for abortion, providing support services such as transportation, lodging and child care. In the face of Trump’s new administration, California lawmakers introduced the AB-54 Access to Safe Abortion Care Act on Dec. 2, 2024, which aims to ensure access availability to abortion pills by refilling California’s stockpiled doses of misoprostol, a medicine prescribed for a safe medical abortion.
“Every day, people push back and resist,” Kaufman said. “It’s this incredible power struggle that is happening at every level at the same time, and that’s what we’re in now.”
