California unveils online portal to report allegations of misconduct by federal agents
California unveiled a new online portal on Wednesday for residents to report alleged misconduct by federal agents during operations to enforce immigration laws.
In a press statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said the portal would allow the public to share allegations about any unlawful activity by federal agents and officers across the state with the California Department of Justice.
The portal on the Attorney General's website allows residents to upload videos and photos of federal agents and their activities and be informed about possible legal actions the state may take to protect Californians' rights.
"We're not going to stand by while anyone - including federal agents - abuses their authority in California," said Newsom in a prepared statement. "This new portal gives Californians an easy and safe way to speak up, share what they see, and help us hold people accountable. No one is above the law."
CBS News has reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for comment on the online portal.
In California, among recent cases where federal agents are accused of misconduct were:
- A raid on a cannabis farm in Ventura County, where a U.S. citizen and Army veteran was pepper-sprayed and forcibly removed from his car. George Retes was held in federal custody for three days before being released without charges. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the U.S. Attorney's Office was "reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo."
- A U.S. citizen who said she was detained in downtown Los Angeles by plainclothes, masked agents who did not identify themselves. Andrea Velez and her family described the incident as a kidnapping and said she was racially profiled. McLaughlin said Velez "was arrested for assaulting an ICE enforcement officer."
- Dozens of undocumented immigrants who showed up to mandatory check-in appointments at a Los Angeles federal building were taken into custody and held in a basement overnight, along with at least one U.S. citizen, with no beds and limited access to food and water. A DHS spokesman said those arrested "had executable final orders of removal by an immigration judge and had not complied with that order."
DHS has previously said federal agents are focused on arresting and deporting "the worst of the worst," such as persons in the U.S. unlawfully and with serious criminal histories. The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, told CBS News earlier this year that states and cities with "sanctuary" policies limiting cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement force his agents to go into communities where additional so-called "collateral" arrests of non-criminals who are also undocumented.
However, recent immigration crackdowns in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. show most people detained only had civil immigration violations, according to data provided by ICE and published on Monday by the Deportation Data Project, which compiles public data on deportations. Meanwhile, a CBS News analysis of data provided by the DHS shows detentions of immigrants without criminal histories have spiked since May. Only 40% of detainees since January have criminal convictions, and only about 8% of all detainees have been convicted of violent crimes, CBS News found.
"The Trump Administration is engaging in a campaign of terror and fear that has left some California communities scared to go about their daily lives ... Californians are rightly concerned that federal agents may be crossing the line and abusing their authority," said Bonta in a statement. "Let me be clear: Federal agents can enforce federal laws, and no one should interfere with them doing their job. But they must also do so lawfully and in compliance with the Constitution.
Newsom has accused the Trump administration of "indiscriminately targeting hardworking immigrant families, regardless of their roots or risk."
California has recently enacted laws prohibiting federal agents from wearing facial coverings and requiring them to identify themselves during enforcement operations. Their passage prompted a lawsuit by the Trump administration, which says the laws violate the Constitution's Supremacy Clause and threaten the safety of federal officers.
Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said federal agents will not comply with the mask ban when it goes into effect in January.