Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) promised to make U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers “unhirable” in California agencies should he win the governor’s office.
Swalwell appeared on MeidasTouch’s Katie Phang Show Tuesday to commit to banning ICE officers and agents from state jobs as part of his gubernatorial campaign. On Wednesday, Swalwell shared a clip from the segment on his social media.
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“As governor, I’ll use my emergency powers, and I’ll tell every state agency we are not, as a policy, hiring ICE agents because right now these guys doing this work, it’s a decision. No one’s holding a gun and saying you have to work for ICE,” Swalwell said.
“And so when I’m governor, if you’re still working for ICE and you haven’t got the message that no one’s asking you to do this, you won’t be hired in the state.”
“If you work for ICE, you will be unhirable in California,” Swalwell captioned the clip on X and Instagram.
Since Swalwell’s segment, there was an ICE-involved shooting in Compton, California, outside of Swalwell’s House district. While an officer opened fire, no one was wounded as a result. According to the Department of Homeland Security, an illegal immigrant suspect “weaponized his vehicle and rammed law enforcement” to evade arrest.
In addition to barring ICE officers from working for the state, Swalwell promised to ban them from getting California driver’s licenses. It remains to be seen how this would be implemented, as a person’s work status is not involved in the application for a driver’s license.
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ICE operations have divided Californians along party lines according to a University of California, Los Angeles poll conducted last August. Among Democratic respondents, 91% feel that ICE raids are unfair, while only 15% of Republican respondents said the same. The poll surveyed nearly 5,000 Californians and reported a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Swalwell is in the middle of a crowded Democratic primary to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who will reach his term limit next year. According to a survey from Emerson College Polling and Inside California Politics, Swalwell has the support of 12% of voters, while 11% back former Rep. Katie Porter.
