California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday issued a blunt challenge to the Trump administration, daring its top immigration enforcement adviser to arrest him as federal agents and National Guard troops clashed with anti-ICE demonstrators in Los Angeles for a third consecutive day.
"Come after me. Arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy," Newsom told NBC News, responding to warnings from Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, that he and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could face prosecution for obstructing federal immigration operations.
"I'll say it about anybody," Homan said in a weekend interview. "You cross that line, it's a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It's a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job."
Homan's threat followed scenes of unrest in Los Angeles, where protesters have swarmed federal detention centers and ICE offices in response to mass raids and arrests. In an effort to regain control, Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles County, a move Newsom condemned as political overreach.
"He's a tough guy. Why doesn't he do that? He knows where to find me," Newsom said. "So, Tom, arrest me. Let's go."
Newsom announced plans to file a federal lawsuit first thing Monday to challenge Trump's decision to federalize the California National Guard. "They had to coordinate with the governor of the state," Newsom said. "They never coordinated with the governor of the state."
Bass, for her part, rejected Homan's remarks outright. "He had absolutely positively no reason to even say that," she said. "The last thing in the world I'm going to do is get into a brawl with the federal government."
Trump doubled down on the administration's stance during remarks to reporters on Sunday. "officials who stand in the way of law and order" will "face judges," he said.
Newsom revealed that he spoke with Trump by phone shortly after protests broke out Friday, but said the president raised no concerns about troop deployment or arrests of elected officials. "We talked for almost 20 minutes, and he barely - this issue never came up," Newsom said.
In a formal letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Newsom requested that the president rescind the federal order and return control of the California National Guard to the state. "In dynamic and fluid situations such as the one in Los Angeles, State and local authorities are the most appropriate ones to evaluate the need for resources and safeguard life and property," he wrote.
