Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Wednesday said that California state and local authorities “may arrest” agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they violate state law while conducting immigration raids in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The raids, which are expected to begin this week, have drawn widespread criticism from politicians and elected officials in California. President Donald Trump called the city “woke,” promising to “go” to the city and “make it great again.”
Pelosi, alongside fellow San Francisco-area Democratic Rep. Kevin Mullins, called the raids “an appalling abuse of power” and attacked the Trump administration in a statement on Wednesday.
“While the President may enjoy absolute immunity courtesy of his rogue Supreme Court, those who operate under his orders do not,” the statement read. “Our state and local authorities may arrest federal agents if they break California law — and if they are convicted, the President cannot pardon them.”
Pelosi doubled down on her statement in a social media post, defending “patriotic immigrants.”
“We will not be intimidated by politically motivated fear tactics,” Pelosi said.
While the legal grounds for arresting ICE agents is unclear, it is possible to sue and prosecute agents that violate state laws, such as excessive force, according to a report from the New York Times.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised to sue if the Trump administration deploys the National Guard to the city, vowing to take the administration to court the “nanosecond” such a move is considered.
“Send troops to San Francisco and we will sue you,” Newsom said in a social media post directed at Trump.
Newsom previously filed a restraining order against Trump for deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles during immigration protests. A lawsuit from Newsom followed, and, in September, a judge found that the deployment was illegal.
