Tipsheet

A Top Democrat in California's Governor Race Just Vowed to Take the Most Extreme Position Yet on ICE

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  April 15, 2026 10:00 AM

Tom Steyer, now one of the leading Democrats in California’s governor’s race after Eric Swalwell dropped out amid sexual assault allegations, just made clear he holds some of the most far-left positions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

His platform, laid out in an article on X, calls for abolishing ICE, jailing ICE agents and “treating them like the mob,” returning those he claims were “kidnapped and detained” by ICE, and giving California’s attorney general the authority to prosecute ICE agents and their leadership. It also includes taxpayer-funded legal support for illegal immigrants and rejects a Supreme Court ruling that allows factors like race, language, occupation, and location to contribute to “reasonable suspicion” in immigration enforcement, opting instead to expand legal protections for those in the country illegally.

And yet, the billionaire had previously invested $90 million in a company behind the state’s largest immigration detention center, something he now laments as a mistake upon running for governor.

“We never had anything to do with running the company,” Steyer said in an interview. “But it was a mistake to think that that was a place where it was decent to make money.”

And since launching his campaign, his rhetoric has been nothing but radical.

This comes as Steyer’s chances of being elected governor of California have surged following Eric Swalwell’s exit from the race. 

Previously, he had been polling around fifth place, behind both Republican candidates and the leading Democrats Eric Swalwell and Katie Porter. But with Swalwell out, many California Democrats are now turning to Steyer as a more viable contender, as people are reminded of Porter's scandals from just months ago.