Democrat Xavier Becerra used his first speech as California’s governor-elect to attack Immigration and Customs Enforcement by name, calling its officers “mercenaries” and declaring that migrants should not be deported. He also signaled he intends to revive the immigration posture of the Biden administration.

Becerra framed the result as a rebuke of President Trump’s immigration policy, which he described as un-American, and promised a fight for anyone he considers a Californian, a definition he stretched to include people in the country illegally.

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From Breitbart:

“The California dream is universal. It’s non-negotiable. And yes, it is undeportable,” he exclaimed to cheers from his supporters.

“Tonight, I have a message for all those who have been made to feel afraid.

“There’s a new sheriff in town,” the gov.-elect continued, “and he’s got a law degree and a union card. [cheering] If anyone wants to come after California or any one Californian, they better be ready for a fight,” he said including illegals in the definition of “Californian.”

The speech leaned heavily on the language of rights. Becerra said, “Never in our lifetimes has so much of what we love been on the line, our families, our safety, our freedom,” then listed what he called freedoms: “Freedom to love, freedom to learn, freedom to unionize and earn a living wage, the right to see a doctor, and the freedom to make your own decisions about your body.” He closed the list with “Freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, travel unpolluted coastlines. Freedom to walk the streets without fear of gun violence or ICE mercenaries. And freedom tonight to hold a free election.”

The vote is less surprising measured against the state’s demographics. A Public Policy Institute of California study found the state is home to 10.9 million immigrants, 22 percent of the foreign-born population nationwide. The report added that “In 2024, the most current year of data, 28% of California’s population was foreign-born, the highest share of any state and more than double the share in the rest of the country (13%).” It also found that “Almost half (44%) of California children have at least one immigrant parent.”

The source does not report a vote margin, an opponent’s name or a concession, and it carries no response from ICE, the Department of Homeland Security or the Trump White House to Becerra’s remarks. Nor does it include any statement from California Republican officials.

Calling federal law enforcement officers “mercenaries” is not rhetorical flourish. It is a governor-elect telling his constituents that the agents sworn to enforce the nation’s immigration laws are the enemy, and that the state will shield people from them. Becerra’s list of “rights” is instructive too: it names a right to kill the unborn, a right to a doctor paid for by someone else, and a right to walk past federal agents unmolested, but never a right of Californians to have their own borders enforced or their own tax dollars respected. Let us pray for the ICE officers and Border Patrol agents, that they would be protected in their work and honored for doing a difficult duty. Pray for California’s churches, that they would honor the law, and that voters in the state would hold their leaders accountable for the safety of every neighborhood, immigrant and native-born alike.

How are you praying about this issue? Share your prayers and scriptures in the comments below.

(Excerpt from Breitbart. Photo Credit: USDA photo by Tom Witham).