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Democratic lawmakers in California are crafting legislative proposals aimed at restricting federal immigration authorities’ ability to access and utilize commercial data sources to locate and deport undocumented immigrants. Evidence indicates that federal agencies have contractual agreements with data analytics firms like LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters, according to Politico. California Democrats seek to tighten regulations governing the type of information these services can sell and the manner in which they operate, with the primary objective of impeding ICE’s ability to leverage such data to the greatest extent possible.
Despite lacking concrete proof, California Democrats express concerns that federal authorities are exploiting personal location data to aid in tracking migrants. This apprehension is encapsulated by Shiu-Ming Cheer, the deputy director of immigrant and racial justice at the far-left California Immigrant Policy Center, who remarked to Politico, “It really does seem like looking at technology and the use of information has been this sort of second frontier in terms of immigration enforcement.”
California Councilmember’s husband arrested by ICE:
Yadira Perez, a Coachella City, CA council member, watches as her illegal alien husband, Isidro Jimenez, is arrested by federal agents in a parking lot.
Her husband has been convicted of multiple crimes including drug dealing,… pic.twitter.com/4yOzt3Mk87
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 5, 2025
This fear has sparked a new avenue for resistance against the Trump administration by blue states.
California’s extreme left-wing Attorney General, Rob Bonta, recently insisted that data must be safeguarded from the Trump administration, stating, “This location data is deeply personal. Given the federal assaults on immigrant communities, as well as gender-affirming healthcare and abortion, businesses must take the responsibility to protect location data seriously.”
Democratic state Senator Josh Becker exclaimed that Trump is “establishing a vast surveillance network” and introduced a bill mandating data brokers to publicly disclose whether they collect and sell user data, including immigration status, sexual orientation, union membership, and government ID numbers. He claims his bill is “especially necessary now as we see the reality of mass deportations of immigrants and the targeting of the transgender community.”
JUST IN:
Anti Ice demonstrations in Los Angeles.
Blocking roads. Mass arrests.Isn't it grand. Waving your country's flag while possibly illegal or supporting law breaking in a country where ones lives.
Send them ALL back to the flag they carry!🤬 pic.twitter.com/NHd3Ph5Xjp
— Waterdisport 🇺🇸 (@WatrDi) February 3, 2025
Democratic Assemblymember Chris Ward is also working on a similar bill. He told Politico, “We’ve seen how location and digital data can be weaponized to target immigrant communities, protesters, and others whose identities or actions run counter to certain political agendas,” and Ward is supporting efforts to curtail that data usage.
Consequently, Assemblymember Ward is sponsoring a bill to completely ban the selling of user data by third-party entities.
Finally, Democratic Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan is pushing a bill to prohibit “geofencing,” a GPS-based technology that can be used to locate where users go. Her intention is to prevent the technology from identifying when anyone enters or leaves an abortion clinic. However, her bill, aimed more at addressing the unsupported fear among Democrats that the Trump administration is somehow trying to ban abortion, would also affect immigration enforcement if enacted into law.
