California Gov. Gavin Newsom railed against 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 constructing the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry on Thursday afternoon.
Newsom described the tariffs as “one of the biggest tax increases in U.S. history” that would affect Californians’ wallets and small businesses, especially farmers across the Golden State.
“Don’t think for a second this won’t impact you,” Newsom said. “90% of these tariffs will impact bottom of our economic chain, meaning lower wage workers that pay over half of these taxes.”
“There is no economic growth in America without the success and the vibrancy of this region,” he added.
Calling the tariffs a “betrayal” that is “happening in real time,” Newsom said the new legal crossing would promote two-way trade between Mexico and the U.S.
“You are being betrayed by these policies,” Newsom said.
“And those farmers and ranchers will be impacted disproportionately if these tariffs go into effect,” he said. “And I didn’t even bring up the mass deportation components of it. You know better than I do when you look at farm workers, the last estimate, roughly half are undocumented.”
In talking about the Ota Mesa Easy Port of Entry, Newsom said he hopes to have it completed by December 2027, with the help of the incoming Trump administration.
“We care about border security, but we also care about economic security, and we care about two way trade, and we care about our partners on the other side of this border that 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 migrants 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 around illegal immigration flowing into the blue state as he positions himself for a potential showdown with the incoming Trump administration. This week, Newsom spearheaded an emergency special legislative session, urging lawmakers to approve $25 million to bolster the state’s legal defense against potential federal lawsuits lobbed by Trump.
Between 2017 and 2021, California’s Department of Justice led 122 lawsuits against Trump administration policies, spending $42 million on litigation. Newsom’s office said in one case, the federal government was ordered to reimburse California nearly $60 million in public safety grants.
While California filed over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, President-elect Donald Trump lobbed only four major lawsuits against the state.
California, a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants, abortion procedures and transgender transition treatments for children, could be targeted by the Trump administration, especially considering Trump’s mass deportation plan of illegal immigrants.
Trump called Newsom’s plan an effort to “Trump-proof” the state in a Truth social post last month.
