ICE Out of California

IOOCA Statement: Trio of polls underscores groundswell of support for immigrants in CA, strong opposition to mass deportations

2/27/2025

Newly released data from the Public Policy Institute of California, coupled with polling earlier this month conducted by Emerson College as well as a recent UC Irvine poll of voters in Orange County, paint a clear picture: California voters strongly favor state and local action to protect immigrant Californians from deportation and to keep families together, and they strongly oppose mass deportations.

Among key findings in PPIC’s new polling data, released last night:

“An overwhelming majority of adults (72%) and likely voters (70%) say that immigrants are a benefit to California.” (In February 2024, this figure stood at 60%, so today’s results represent a significant increase in support.)
“About six in ten adults (63%) and likely voters (62%) favor the California state and local governments making their own policies and taking actions, separate from the federal government, to protect the legal rights of undocumented immigrants in California.”
“About four in ten California adults worry some (23%) or a lot (20%) that someone they know could be deported. Latinos (64%), Californians who have a high school education only (56%), Democrats (54%), those age 35 or under (53%), and Los Angeles residents (53%) are most likely to worry about someone being deported.”

Earlier this month, an Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill survey of California voters found:

“A majority of voters (56%) think mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in California are a bad thing for California, while 44% think they are a good thing for the state.”

Meanwhile, a UC Irvine OC Poll, released in January 2025, found (page 10):

“President Trump has promised mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, but only one-third of OC residents agree. By contrast, almost 60 percent of residents would prefer an option for the undocumented to obtain legal status."

The PPIC results also come on the heels of a gripping op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, ‘I’m afraid for my patients’: How Trump’s deportation plans are hitting California hospitals” by Dr. Theresa Cheng. While California hospitals are required under state sanctuary law to enact policies to protect against ICE incursions, the piece underscores the need for stronger protections to protect Californians’ personal data:

"I had just started my career as an emergency doctor in Los Angeles. A 21-year-old man had been pinned between a cement truck and a concrete wall. When he tried to walk, all he felt was immense pain. An ambulance was called, but he refused to go to an emergency department."

California’s existing Sanctuary state law does provide an important minimum standard of protection for Californians, which many local governments have built on. On the first day of the legislative session in December 2024, the ICE out of California Coalition – a statewide alliance which spearheaded efforts to pass the state’s Sanctuary Law, also known as the California Values Act (2017), as well as the TRUTH (2016) and TRUST (2013) Acts – organized a 500-person rally in Sacramento urging that state legislators ensure that "not one cent" of California tax payer dollars are used for mass deportation, and urging action to keep families together. Community leaders also pointed out that profits for prison prison corporations have skyrocketed since November.

Experts and community leaders from the coalition are available to comment on this data and the political moment.

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IOOCA Statement: Trio of polls underscores groundswell of support for immigrants in CA, strong opposition to mass deportations

IOOCA Statement: Sanctuary for all will triumph over Trump’s vile lies

KCRA/NBC 3: "Hundreds rally at California Capitol to protest mass deportations"

Capital Public Radio: "Immigrant advocates rally at state Capitol, demand more protections from California lawmakers"

AP News: "Hundreds Protest in California against Trump's Mass Deportation Plans"

KQED: "Advocates Vow to Fight On After Newsom Vetoes Bill to End Some Transfers From Prison to ICE"

Davis Vanguard: "California Assembly Approves ‘HOME Act’ to End ICE Grabbing Immigrants as They Are Released from State Custody"

San Francisco Chronicle: "He grew up in California. Now, he’s forced to live in his birth country — a place he’s never known"

LAist: "LA State Lawmaker Revives Effort To Stop Prison-To-ICE Transfers"

Fresno Bee: "U.S. citizen spent 36 days in San Joaquin Valley immigration lockup. Now, ICE is being sued"

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