Someone tell Tom Steyer, et al: Dems can’t arrest ICE in California

Nypost · May 22, 2026 · 916 words · By Craig DeLuz

Constitutional Law / Supremacy Clause Federal vs State Authority California Gubernatorial Race

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What to know about Constitutional Law / Supremacy Clause

Someone tell Tom Steyer, et al: Dems can’t arrest ICE in California See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 4

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left33%

Center34%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Someone tell Tom Steyer, et al: Dems can’t arrest ICE in California See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The California Post on GoogleThere is a certain kind of politician who has learned that saying something loudly and confidently is a perfectly adequate substitute for saying something true.

Common ground

California’s gubernatorial race has produced a bumper crop of them.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Oversimplification, Ad Hominem: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Constitutional Law / Supremacy Clause story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Steyer wants to give the state attorney general authority to hold ICE leadership accountable for violence, and to pursue “supervisory liability” to criminally prosecute not just agents but their supervisors?
How does this story connect Constitutional Law / Supremacy Clause with Federal vs State Authority over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/22/opinion/someone-tell-the-candidates-democrats-cant…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 4 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

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Loaded Language 95% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Oversimplification 70% confidence

Reducing a complex issue to a simplistic framing that distorts understanding.

Why it matters: Recognizing oversimplification helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Ad Hominem 85% confidence

Attacking the person making the argument rather than the argument itself.

Why it matters: Recognizing ad hominem helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Appeal to Hypocrisy 90% confidence

Dismissing someone's argument because their behavior contradicts it.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to hypocrisy helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “Steyer wants to give the state attorney general authority to hold ICE leadership accountable for violence, and to pursue “supervisory liability” to criminally prosecute not just agents but their supervisors”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Steyer's own Substack and news reports, confirm his proposal to use 'supervisory liability' to prosecute ICE leadership and supervisors via the California justice system.

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 14, 2026 ... This body of law empowers the California justice system to criminally prosecute ... Trump has turned ICE into a criminal enterprise, so let's ...
https://tomsteyer.substack.com/p/how-california-can-put-ice-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 15, 2026 ... This body of law empowers the California justice system to criminally prosecute ... ICE has been forced to shelve major criminal investigations in ...
https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/posts/breaking-cali…

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 15, 2026 ... He further called for the use of “supervisory liability,” which would allow prosecutors to “criminally prosecute … ... ICE into a criminal ...
https://davisvanguard.org/2026/04/california-ice-legal-actio…

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Claim 2: “Former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra vowed to “police the immigration police.“”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute this claim.

info

Claim 3: “state Schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond promised to have ICE agents arrested”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results for 'Tony Thurmond' returned irrelevant information about the Tony Awards and a film titled 'Tony', providing no evidence regarding his statements on ICE agents.

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web search NEUTRAL — Tony is an upcoming American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Matt Johnson. Based on the life of the American chef Anthony Bourdain, it stars Dominic Sessa as Bourdain alongside Emilia Jones…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_(2026_film)

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web search NEUTRAL — Join the TonyAwards.com e-mail list and you’ll be the first to hear about Tony news and events. © 2026 Tony Award ® Productions. All rights reserved.
https://www.tonyawards.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — May 5, 2026 · The Tony Awards 2026 nominations were announced on Tuesday, May 5, ahead of the 79th annual ceremony on June 7
https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/tony-awards-20…

info

Claim 4: “the Department of Justice can move the case to federal court, where federal supremacy immunity applies — and the state prosecution is barred entirely.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results provided for this claim are dictionary definitions of 'Department' and unrelated DOT information; they do not address the DOJ's ability to move cases to federal court for supremacy immunity.

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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · The meaning of DEPARTMENT is a functional or territorial division. How to use department in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/department

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web search NEUTRAL — DEPARTMENT definition: a distinct part of anything arranged in divisions; a division of a complex whole or organized system. See examples of department used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/department

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web search NEUTRAL — These pages provide guidance and forms required prior to testing and operating autonomous vehicles in Arizona. These pages contain information useful to businesses interacting with ADOT.
https://azdot.gov/mvd

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Claim 5: “Former LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa compared ICE officers to the Ku Klux Klan”

CORROBORATED

Two independent news reports (Fox News and Grabien Staff) confirm Antonio Villaraigosa compared ICE officers to the Ku Klux Klan based on their appearance.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Ku Klux Klan, sometimes referred to as the Klan, is an American Protestant-led white supremacist and far-right hate group.Depiction of Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina in 1870, based on a photograph…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan

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web search NEUTRAL — Villaraigosa was more aggressive, comparing ICE officers to the "Ku Klux Klan," describing them as "dressed from head to toe, all covered up like the Ku Klux Klan with assault weapons, flash bang gren…
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-dems-lash-out-ic…

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web search NEUTRAL — ‘I have never in my life seen ICE agents dressed from head to toe all covered up like the Ku Klux Klan’. Feb 4, 2026 11:30 AM. By Grabien Staff.
https://news.grabien.com/story/fmr-los-angeles-mayor-antonio…

verified

Claim 6: “Under the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the US Constitution, and under longstanding Supreme Court precedent, states may not criminally prosecute federal officers for actions taken in the lawful course of their federal duties, provided the officer reasonably believed those actions were necessary to fulfill that duty.”

VERIFIED

Web search results confirm that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that federal supremacy prevents the prosecution of federal officers for actions taken while performing their duties.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Aryan Brotherhood (AB or The Brand) is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate that is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_Brotherhood

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web search NEUTRAL — The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the supremacy of federal law and the federal government prevented prosecuting a federal officer for actions taken while performing his duties.
https://verdict.justia.com/2025/09/24/absent-federal-consent…

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web search NEUTRAL — Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction: Article III of the Constitution cabins their subject-matter jurisdiction to certain “cases” and “controversies.” 1 Constitutional standing doctrine g…
https://yalelawjournal.org/note/the-new-standing-doctrine-ju…

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Claim 7: “Xavier Becerra... also served as California’s attorney general”

CORROBORATED

Multiple cross-references from the same news organization (Nypost) consistently state that Xavier Becerra served as the Attorney General of California.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — Becerra... presided over a crime wave as California’s attorney general
https://nypost.com/2026/05/13/opinion/why-2026-could-be-a-ch…

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cross reference SUPPORTS — Becerra, who also served in the California state legislature before becoming attorney general
https://nypost.com/2026/05/17/us-news/2026-california-govern…

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cross reference SUPPORTS — Becerra, who was California attorney general for the first two years of his term
https://nypost.com/2026/05/14/us-news/gavin-newsoms-secret-p…

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “Tom Steyer... describing the federal law enforcement agency as a “violent extremist group.””

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources quote Steyer referring to ICE as a 'violent extremist group' in the context of jailing its agents.

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web search NEUTRAL — Thomas Fahr Steyer is an American businessman, philanthropist, and environmentalist. He is the founder of Farallon Capital, a San Francisco-based hedge fund, as well as NextGen America, a progressive …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Steyer

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web search NEUTRAL — Steyer described Espina as a “trusted ambassador” to a broad swath of Californians he hopes to reach through his campaign. And one of the things he wants to communicate is a position that will doubtle…
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/tom-steyer-wants-to-jail-ice-ag…

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web search NEUTRAL — “Put ICE agents and their leadership in jail for their crimes, because that’s how you take on a violent extremist group and win,” he said. California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer says…
https://www.westernjournal.com/FAILED-DEM-PRESIDENTIAL-CANDI…

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Claim 9: “Tom Steyer... has called for abolishing ICE and jailing its agents”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm Tom Steyer has called to abolish ICE and put agents in jail.

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web search NEUTRAL — At the federal level, Tom has called to abolish ICE. As governor, Tom will protect the most vulnerable and bring to justice those who break the law and brutalize our neighbors.
https://www.tomsteyer.com/issues/abolish-ice

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web search NEUTRAL — — Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) April 14, 2026. The announcement marks the latest escalation in Steyer’s repeated calls to dismantle ICE. He has previously declared the agency irredeemable, stating “ICE sho…
https://californiaglobe.com/fr/fossil-fuel-billionaire-tom-s…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.