Democratic California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is running for Rep. Nancy Pelosi‘s (D-CA) House seat, proposed new legislation on Tuesday that would make it easier for residents to sue federal immigration officials for violating their constitutional rights.
Wiener’s bill, called the No Kings Act, would close a legal loophole and make it simpler for individuals to seek monetary damages from federal, state, and local officers who violate their free speech as well as protections against unlawful searches, unreasonable seizures at checkpoints without warrants or probably cause, excessive force during arrests, and the targeting of people based on race or political identity in the state.
“Californians need a way to stand up to this administration’s unprecedented disregard for their constitutional rights,” Wiener said in a written statement. “The Trump Administration has used its power to racially profile people and illegally disappear them, to punish political opponents, and to cut off funding to universities — and this Supreme Court has handed them unchecked power to do so.”
“Our rights mean little if government agents can violate them without consequences,” he added. “While they take rights away, we will create a new path to justice through a clear legal remedy for willful violations of constitutional rights. As a lawless Administration attempts to shred the Constitution, it’s time we give it some teeth.”
Wiener and other California Democrats have gone after the Trump administration, saying it has lawlessly violated protections afforded in the Constitution, specifically where immigration is concerned, as well as attacks on universities and courts.
Wiener said there is currently no accountability when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers mistakenly take U.S. citizens into custody. He pointed to the detention of Los Angeles resident George Retes, a 25-year-old Army veteran who was arrested by ICE and held in custody overnight after he was hit with pepper spray and tear gas. A recent ProPublica investigation cited 170 cases where U.S. citizens were “kicked, dragged, and detained for days” and more than 20 cases where they were held in custody for more than a day without being able to call an attorney.
“They held [Retes] for 72 hours without letting him make a phone call or contact an attorney,” Wiener said. “He missed his daughter’s third birthday. All of this was illegal and despicable.”
The Department of Homeland Security has disputed Retes’s recollection of events, saying he is violent and was arrested on charges of assault.
If it passes the state legislature and is signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Wiener’s bill will likely face legal challenges. The Trump administration is already challenging a bill Wiener wrote earlier this year, which would prohibit federal law enforcement agents from covering their faces.
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Wiener’s bill gives him an opportunity to show voters ahead of next year’s midterm contest that he is willing to push back on the Trump administration. Wiener’s biggest challenger is Saikat Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Who wins the race could provide insight into how Democrats plan to handle the 2028 presidential contest and beyond. Wiener has a record of building diverse coalitions, while Chakrabarti has pushed for a structural change and overhauling the Democratic Party.
