Overview
- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office on July 29–30 released internal Homeland Security text messages and federal court exhibits that it says show agents called the Los Angeles enforcement action a “stunt” and described it as political.
- The materials include messages saying agents were pulled off other duties “to run this stunt” and that the operation “essentially raided” the governor’s press conference.
- An excerpt from a sworn deposition in the filings quotes an agent saying the presence of Border Patrol at the event “seemed to be purely political” and lacked a clear operational basis.
- Court exhibits filed in the Central District of California show the August 2025 operation led to at least two arrests and are part of a case in which three men challenge their arrests as illegal.
- The disclosures deepen calls for accountability from state officials, several Southern California cities have joined related legal challenges, and the Department of Homeland Security has not publicly responded to the newly released records.