New court documents expose Trump administration’s political targeting of Governor Newsom

One message from Homeland Security personnel states: 

“Gavin Newsom was holding a press conference, so they decided to march from the federal building to where the press conference was. They arrested a couple people outside and just stood around to get media attention. . . . Bovino made a couple statements then they left and walked back to the (federal) building.” 

Another exchange states:

“They essentially raided the Newsom press conferences.”

“We got pulled off the [Home Depot] and car wash to run this stunt.”

And another:

“We were told to assist with targeted enforcement. That is not target(ed) enforcement. That was just a political agenda.”

In sworn deposition testimony accompanying those messages, an agent testified:

“They marched to a Democratic governor’s press conference. It seemed to be purely political. It did not seem like there was a good operational basis to be doing that. To me, it appeared political.”

And here:

“…the overall aggression that Border Patrol pursued this mission with seemed a little intense… It seemed to be pushing into like public spaces… it seemed to be escalating to less and less targeted.”

The timing

The August 14 operation was no coincidence. Federal agents converged on a press conference featuring Governor Newsom and other California leaders during a pivotal political moment, as Californians were engaged in a public debate over a proposal to redistrict to counteract the partisan redistricting effort underway in Texas. The timing and purpose described by the personnel raise profound questions about whether federal law enforcement was used to shape a political narrative at the height of an election-season debate.

The reality

These newly released court records directly contradict repeated public claims from the Trump administration that the immigration raid was unrelated to Governor Newsom.

The revelations come after Governor Newsom repeatedly warned that the Trump administration was weaponizing federal law enforcement against political opponents. In recent weeks, the Governor demanded records from Trump’s Department of Justice regarding its politically motivated investigation and condemned the DOJ’s unprecedented efforts targeting both the Governor and members of his family.

Beyond exposing the political nature of these operations, the court filings reveal deeply offensive racist remarks exchanged by some agents, including slurs used to describe Latinos and immigrants. The same records depict an enforcement strategy driven by politics, indiscriminate sweeps, and a dehumanizing attitude toward the people caught in them. 

The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed its immigration raids are about removing dangerous criminals. The evidence tells a different story. Their strategy has become one of dangerous quotas over public safety and headlines over results. Families have been separated. Parents have been detained on their way to work. U.S. citizens and immigrants have been wrongfully detained. Californians have been wrongfully deported. Communities have been terrorized by indiscriminate sweeps. Businesses have lost revenue and workers. And now, according to newly released court records, agents themselves describe being diverted from enforcement operations to carry out what they called a “stunt” and “a political agenda.” That’s not public safety. That’s the weaponization of federal law enforcement for political gain. 

Read the sworn deposition and the text messages.