Meet California's Chief Trump Antagonist On Immigration

SACRAMENTO, California — President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration actions have quickly made Rob Bonta the state’s chief border antagonist.

The California attorney general was a state legislator without a megaphone during Trump’s first term and then a cooperative Biden ally early in his tenure atop the state Department of Justice. But when he tried to lead on suing oil companies and protecting abortion rights, he was vastly overshadowed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Now Trump’s promises of mass deportations have rocketed Bonta, himself an immigrant from the Philippines who Newsom initially appointed to the job, to a new level of prominence. Last week, Bonta warned local law enforcement against cooperating with federal authorities when prohibited by state law. He vowed to defend undocumented immigrants in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. And on Tuesday, he sued Trump over his executive order to end birthright citizenship.

The Bay Area Democrat is poised to become even more central to the immigration fight as legislators prepare to send his office $25 million to fight the White House in court and as Trump’s team prepares an onslaught of executive orders and enforcement actions.

Newsom has not been nearly as outspoken on Trump’s immigration plans — clearing space for Bonta to lead the debate.

Bonta’s moment in the spotlight comes just as he must decide whether to run to succeed Newsom in a packed 2026 field or vie for what would likely be an easy reelection.

He has already had senior aides depart from his political orbit. An entrance into the governor’s race by former Rep. Katie Porter would almost certainly make that contest less appealing. And if former Vice President Kamala Harris decides to run for governor, it would effectively close the door for Bonta and many other Democrats, including Porter.

In either case, Trump’s presidency is an opportune moment for California’s top cop to boost his name recognition in the state and beyond it.

Sparring with Trump also elevated the stature of Bonta’s predecessor, Xavier Becerra, a Jerry Brown appointee who sued the Trump administration more than 120 times as head of the state's DOJ. Becerra opted to become Biden’s U.S. Health and Human Services secretary rather than remain in the AG role and pursue higher office. He, too, was considering a 2026 run for governor.

Bonta’s new role is sure to bolster his profile in California, but there’s formidable competition for national relevance.

More than a dozen other attorneys general joined the birthright citizenship suit. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, whose mother emigrated from Haiti to Chicago, has spoken about his personal connection to the issue while criticizing Trump.

“He'll just be one of many to do this, and I'm not too sure California is the right place to lead the fight politically,” Mike Madrid, an anti-Trump Republican political consultant who writes about immigration politics, said of Bonta. The AG's positions are “notable and virtuous and probably representative of the people of California, so it's the right place to be. But in terms of building a national political platform, I don't see that.”

That’s unlikely to matter for Bonta’s state-level ambitions, which started with his own immigration to the United States. He was born in the Philippines and moved to California as a baby. He grew up in a trailer in the Central Valley, and his parents were activists with the United Farm Workers, alongside iconic figures like César Chávez and Dolores Huerta.

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, a friend and an ally in the lawsuit to defend birthright citizenship, said Bonta was busy working “around the clock” in recent weeks to prepare for Trump’s flurry of executive orders.

“This issue is incredibly personal to him, Chiu said, “starting from his youngest days.”

Shia Kapos contributed to this report.

Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter.