Expert rips Newsom for reported effort to help illegal migrants evade Trump policies: ‘Destructive leadership’

California Governor Gavin Newsom A reported plan to help illegal immigrants and their families threatened by President-elect Trump’s mass deportation plan was criticized Thursday as a display of “destructive leadership,” two days after POLITICO published details from an internal memo detailed plan outline.

“We just had an election on November 5th. People voted for secure borders, safe streets and knowing that the president is going to start a deportation crackdown, not just because he wants to, but because we just had about 12 million people come into the country and that CBP encounters him crossing the border illegally, something has to be done about what has just happened over the last four years, and now he wants to use government funds and government infrastructure to violate federal law,” Ron Vitiello, former head of the U.S. border patrol, he said on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday.

He continued, “This is a state that has some of the highest income taxes in the country, some of the highest sales taxes in the country, and has a $68 billion deficit… so he’s going to use taxpayer resources to protect who, exactly ?People who are in the country illegally, who broke the law to be there and also broke the law in the jurisdictions they live in in California.”

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom greets people, Monday, July 8, 2024, near the Common Man Roadside Market and Deli, in Hooksett, NH Newsom is among leading Democrats who have already expressed disdain for President-elect Trump’s plans for mass deportations. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

The memo, titled “Immigrant Support Network Concept,” proposes “the creation of an Immigrant Support Network consisting of regional ‘hubs’ to connect at-risk individuals, their families, and communities with community systems — such as legal services, schools, labor unions, local governments, etc.,” according to a POLITICO report.

The draft plan, while “scarce on details” and “still under review,” appears to reflect a broader effort by blue-state Democrats to challenge Trump’s tough stance on illegal immigration. After Trump was elected, Newsom called a special legislative session and talked about a $25 million “Trump-proof” legal defense fund.

When we are contacted regarding the submitted proposal, Governor Newsom’s office previously told Fox News Digital that the document was not reviewed in Sacramento, adding that it was instead compiled by the state Department of Human Services.

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President-elect Donald Trump gestures at AmericaFest, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scooteri)

Said Scott Murray, Deputy Director of Public Affairs and Outreach Programs at the Department of Human Services Fox News Digital the document is “not a final proposal”.

“This document is an internal and deliberative draft document intended for internal discussions as part of a number of possible considerations given the federal administration’s public objections,” he said in a statement.

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Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.