Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the California-Mexico border in San Diego County Thursday to highlight construction at one of the state's land port of entries.
The news conference originally scheduled for noon was delayed following a magnitude-7.0 earthquake off the coast of Northern California that triggered a tsunami warning affecting 5 million Californians. The governor was being briefed on that situation, his office said.
The governor called on the Biden administration to help secure more federal resources to finish the new port of entry in San Diego County before President-elect Trump takes office in January. Newsom's news conference included an update on construction of a road to the new Otay Mesa East Port of Entry that will help facilitate construction of the long-delayed project that started in the 1990s.
Funding and project management have been two hurdles, Newsom said.
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"What we've done is we've gone back over and over again to Washington, D.C., and we've been successful in getting hundreds of millions of dollars in the current budget that's being debated," Newsom said.
Newsom said he hopes Trump supports the project once he takes office in an effort to complete construction by 2027.
The project is expected to jump start job growth and economic opportunities on both sides of the border, reduce wait times for cars and truck, and improve the movement of goods and services at the border, according to state officials.
California has several land ports of entry, including San Ysidro, the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana and the fourth-busiest in the world; Otay Mesa, the second largest port of entry between Mexico and the U.S.; and Calexico West and East, and Andrade in Imperial County.
In March, Newsom visited the border where he touted the deployment of California National Guard service members to stem the flow of illegal drugs, including fentanyl. A record 62,000 pound of fentanyl was seized in the 2023 operation, according to the governor's office.
The California National Guard deployment was increased statewide in June, including at ports of entry along the border.
The visit comes after Newsom and state lawmakers returned to the state Capitol on Monday to begin a special session to protect the state's progressive policies ahead of another Donald Trump presidency. The Democratic governor has been a fierce critic of President-elect Trump.
"We will work with the incoming administration and we want President Trump to succeed in serving all Americans," Newsom said in a statement announcing the special session. "But when there is overreach, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are targeted, we will take action."
Newsom has asked the legislature to pass additional funding for the attorney general's office to prepare for a legal fight against anticipated federal challenges. Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers in Sacramento and every statewide office.
Legislation has already been introduced to protect state policies on abortion access, civil rights, climate change and immigration.
California sued the first Trump administration more than 120 times with varying levels of success.
Trump, who referred to the Democratic governor as "Newscum" during a Southern California campaign stop, has frequently found fault with the nation's most populous state, including over immigration and border security.
When the special session opened, hundreds of people demonstrated around the Capitol over the Trump Administration's mass deportation plans. Soem carried banners that said “Not one cent for mass deportation” and “MAGA out of California.”
State Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office will protect the state’s immigration population.
Republican lawmakers blasted Newsom and his Democratic allies over the special session. State Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican representing Murrieta in Southern California, said the session would create a more adversarial relationship with the federal government.
“What we’re doing today is sending that exact message — that we are going to fight tooth and nail for everything. And you know what? That means they’re going to fight us tooth and nail for everything,” Seyarto said of the proposed legislation.
Newsom hasn't provided details about what lawmakers will consider but said he wanted funding in place before Trump's inauguration day, Jan. 20. The state spent roughly $42 million in litigation costs during the first Trump administration, officials said.
California is projected to face a $2 billion budget deficit next year, with bigger shortfalls ahead. Gabriel, who sued the first Trump administration in 2017 when it tried to end a program to shield young immigrants from being deported, said lining up the funding now is “a wise investment."
California successfully clawed back $57 million between 2017 and 2018 after prevailing in a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from putting immigration enforcement conditions on certain federal law enforcement grants. Another legal victory over the citizenship question in the 2020 census forced the federal government to return $850,000 to the state, according to the attorney general's office.
During Trump’s first presidency, Democratic attorneys general banded together to file lawsuits over immigration, Trump’s travel ban for residents of Muslim countries, the environment, immigration and other topics. But Trump has one possible advantage this time around: He was aggressive in nominating conservative jurists to federal courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court.
