SACRAMENTO, CA (November 18, 2025) – Free Speech For People (FSFP), a national nonpartisan legal advocacy organization, today issued a detailed letter to California Attorney General Robert Bonta and Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, calling on them to initiate criminal investigations into the unlawful arrests and detentions of U.S. citizens by federal immigration authorities in California. 

As the letter documents, federal immigration officers are subjecting Californians to unnecessary force, threats, coercion, kidnapping, and unlawful detention in violation of California state criminal laws. Prosecutors should investigate federal officials’ crimes against any resident of California regardless of their immigration status, but this letter focuses on clear evidence that U.S. citizens are being subject to unlawful violence and abuse because of federal officials’ arbitrary decisions and failure to do due diligence. In support of its request, FSFP gathered public reports of federal officers wrongly arresting or detaining 26 U.S. citizens in California, which is only the tip of the iceberg of individuals affected by immigration authorities’ unlawful actions. 

Further, as the FSFP letter highlights, these unlawful actions have been officially sanctioned by President Donald Trump himself, who has stated publicly that his immigration agents have not gone far enough: “I think they haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama.” He has also stated his comfort with the current tactics “because you have to get the people out.”

Since taking office, President Trump has undertaken a broad, violent, and unconstitutional campaign against immigrants and immigrant-rich communities. In June 2025, Trump also deployed the National Guard in California, unlawfully occupying Los Angeles and using troops to increase already aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and attacks on protestors. As a result, ordinary citizens are paying the price for Trump’s aggressive immigration strategies. They are being kidnapped from their neighborhoods, on their commute, and outside schools. They are being subject to baseless and unlawful immigration detention and trumped up criminal charges. Often, they are targeted because of their race or ethnicity or because they happened to be present near immigration raids or anti-ICE protests. In each case, federal officers had opportunities to correct their erroneous assumptions and instead chose, at every turn, to subject citizens to violence, abuse, and illegal detention. Their victims include a veteran, a visibly pregnant person, and even a child with disabilities–nothing has protected these individuals from the misdirected and unlawful force of these immigration actions. 

As the FSFP letter explains, immigration officials, with the clear support from Trump, are blatantly disregarding federal rules around immigration enforcement, and are likely violating California state criminal laws, including kidnapping, assault and battery, false arrest and false imprisonment, and theft. These officers cannot claim immunity where they had no legal authority to act, did not believe their acts were authorized, or could not have reasonably believed them to be authorized. Nor is Trump immune from investigation and prosecution in California for offenses that do not qualify as official acts. 

The offending federal officers cannot hide behind gossamer claims of federal immunity–there is no available protection for federal officers who act outside the law,” says Suparna Reddy, Senior Counsel at Free Speech For People. “Further, President Trump cannot hide from his own liability under California state criminal laws for sanctioning the unlawful actions committed by these federal officers. While the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. United States provided presidential immunity for official acts, kidnapping, assault and battery, false arrest, false imprisonment, and theft do not qualify as official acts.

Prominent California officials, including San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and Speaker Emerita and Representative Nancy Pelosi, have already voiced their support for holding immigration officers responsible for their transgressions violating state criminal laws. FSFP applauds these statements, and has sent this letter under separate cover to District Attorney Jenkins to support her preparatory efforts to hold federal officials accountable under California law.

Under the current administration, the U.S. Department of Justice, operating at the Trump’s direction, will not take action to hold immigration officials accountable, but local and state law enforcement in California have both the authority and obligation to investigate and prosecute those who unlawfully harm Californians in violation of California criminal law. This applies whether the offender is an ICE agent, supervising official, or the President himself. 

Attorney General Bonta and District Attorney Hochman must uphold their mandate to protect Californians and launch the appropriate criminal investigations and prosecutions to ensure accountability for unlawful immigration actions by federal officials,” says Courtney Hostetler, Legal Director at Free Speech For People.

Read the letter to California Attorney General Bonta and Los Angeles District Attorney Hochman here. 

Read the letter to San Francisco District Attorney Jenkins here.