It read like both a warning and a dare.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sent a blistering letter Thursday to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and San Francisco D.A. Brooke Jenkins, warning them to step back from interfering with federal immigration enforcement — or face the consequences.
Blanche’s message was clear and cold: any attempt to arrest or impede federal officers enforcing immigration law is both “illegal and futile.”
The clash erupted after Pelosi and Rep. Kevin Mullin issued a fiery statement Wednesday, threatening to arrest federal agents if they “break California law.”
“Reports of a planned mass immigration raid in the Bay Area are an appalling abuse of law enforcement power,” Pelosi and Mullin wrote. “While the President may enjoy absolute immunity courtesy of his rogue Supreme Court, those who operate under his orders do not. … The people of San Francisco will continue to stand with the patriotic immigrants who are the constant reinvigoration of America.”
Blanche hit back almost instantly — and publicly.
“We just sent them a letter: Stand down or face prosecution,” Blanche wrote on X. “No one threatens our agents. No one will stop us from Making America Safe Again.”
The letter cites federal statutes protecting law enforcement and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution — a reminder that California cannot prosecute federal agents for doing their jobs.
Blanche also ordered state leaders to preserve all records and communications tied to any efforts to interfere, warning that the Justice Department will investigate and prosecute any official who crosses the line.
“We urge you and other California officials to publicly abandon this apparent criminal conspiracy, to stop threatening law enforcement, and to prioritize the safety of your citizens,” Blanche wrote.
It was more than a letter — it was a line in the sand between President Trump’s Justice Department and California’s defiant Democrats.
California politicians want to arrest federal agents for enforcing federal law.
We just sent them a letter: Stand down or face prosecution.
No one threatens our agents. No one will stop us from Making America Safe Again. pic.twitter.com/xe0EK8QssO— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) October 23, 2025
