Eric Swalwell

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D‑Calif., told CNN that if he is elected governor of California he would move to strip driver’s licenses from ICE agents who wear masks while operating in the state, declare anyone who has worked for ICE "un‑hirable" in California, and direct state law enforcement to prosecute former agents for crimes such as kidnapping, battery, assault and murder tied to deportation operations. The comments came in a Tuesday interview about President Trump’s mass‑deportation drive and the recent killing of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, as Swalwell backed impeachment of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and insisted "there have to be consequences" when federal officers "publicly execute" people. He framed his pledge as an aggressive use of gubernatorial emergency powers and urged other Democratic governors to "go on offense" against ICE, escalating earlier remarks in which he had only said a Swalwell administration would bar ex‑ICE personnel from state jobs. The remarks drew immediate attention on social media from both immigration‑hardline and civil‑liberties circles, with supporters cheering a hard line on what they see as lawless federal agents and critics warning that blanket blacklisting of former ICE employees would be legally dubious and deepen state‑federal conflict over immigration enforcement. The proposal underscores how far some Democrats are now willing to go rhetorically against ICE in the Trump era, and it previews a possible flashpoint in California’s 2026 governor’s race over how much a state can or should punish federal officers for carrying out controversial federal policies.