California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized President-elect Trump’s proposal to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada during a visit to the southern border to announce plans to finish building the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry. on Thursday afternoon.
Newsom described the tariffs as “one of the largest tax increases in American history” that would hit the wallets and small businesses of Californians, especially farmers across the Golden State.
“Don’t think for a second that this won’t affect you,” Newsom said. “90% of these tariffs will hit the bottom of our economic chain, meaning the lowest-wage workers will pay more than half of these taxes.”
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Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump (Getty)
“There is no economic growth in the United States without the success and vitality of this region,” he added.
Newsom called the tariffs a “betrayal” that “is happening in real time” and said the new legal crossing would promote two-way trade between Mexico and the United States.
“These policies are betraying him,” Newsom said.
“And those farmers and ranchers will be disproportionately affected if these tariffs go into effect,” he said. “And I didn’t even mention the components of mass deportation. You know better than me when you look at farmworkers, the latest estimate is that about half are undocumented.”
Discussing the Ota Mesa Easy Port of Entry, Newsom said he hopes to have it completed by December 2027, with help from the incoming Trump administration.
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Los Angeles, – September 25: Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference signing legislation related to oil and gas well oversight and community protection on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“We care about border security, but we also care about economic security, we care about two-way trade, and we care about our partners on the other side of this border who have well-established partnerships.”
Newsom also announced a new plan with the California National Guard to strengthen border security by targeting the flow of fentanyl and illegal weapons. Nearly 200,000 illegal immigrants cross the border into California daily through ports of entry, according to the San Diego-based Smart Border Coalition in the summer.
The move is part of Newsom’s effort to reframe the conversation about illegal immigration flowing into the blue state as he positions himself for a potential showdown with the incoming Trump administration. This week, Newsom led a special emergency legislative session, urging lawmakers to approve $25 million to bolster the state’s legal defense against potential federal lawsuits pushed by Trump.
PROPOSITION 36 PASSES BY A LARGE ABSOLUTE IN CALIFORNIA, REVERSING SOME SOFT CRIME POLICIES BACKED BY SOROS
TIJUANA, MEXICO – MAY 16: Migrants with CBP One application interviews are allowed to enter the United States through the Chaparral pedestrian border on May 16, 2023, in Tijuana, Mexico, as the new rule of the Title 8 is now being implemented for all asylum seekers. after Title 42 was rescinded on May 11. ((Photo by Carlos A. Moreno/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))
Between 2017 and 2021, the California Department of Justice led 122 lawsuits against the Trump administration’s policies, spending $42 million on litigation. Newsom’s office said that in one case, the federal government was ordered to reimburse California for nearly $60 million in public safety grants.
While California filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, President-elect Donald Trump filed only four major lawsuits against the state.
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California, a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants, abortion procedures and transgender transition treatments for children, could be a target of the Trump administration, especially considering Trump’s mass deportation plan for illegal immigrants.
Trump called Newsom’s plan an effort to “Trump-proof the state” in a Truth social post last month.
