California unveils online tool to report possible wrongdoing by federal agents

OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — California leaders on Wednesday revealed a new method for people to report suspected illegal actions by federal authorities.

Attorney General Rob Bonta announced an online portal people can use to upload photos and videos of federal agents they believe have broken the law. It’s a response to what Bonta called “a campaign of terror and fear” waged by President Donald Trump’s administration against immigrants.

“While federal agents have authority to enforce federal law, they must do so lawfully,” Bonta said at a press conference. “They are not above accountability.”

The online portal — oag.ca.gov/reportmisconduct — informs people that making a complaint doesn’t mean the state Department of Justice will take action. Also, it emphasizes that Bonta’s office can’t represent people or offer legal advice.

Bonta said the online portal isn’t intended to replace local authorities when people need to report a crime and that people should continue to call 911 in those cases. Instead, he said, it offers another route for people to tell California officials about possible wrongdoing by federal authorities, like excessive force, wrongful detentions and interfering with voting.

Bonta said Californians are scared and that they’re right to question the administration’s methods.

“Nobody should be living in fear,” he added.

The attorney general squarely laid the blame for the escalated enforcement at the foot of the Trump administration. Bonta emphasized that no one should interfere or obstruct an officer’s lawful actions. However, he added that no agent can act outside of the Constitution’s bounds.

“We’ve seen the impacts on families, people afraid to go to work,” Bonta said.

“This isn’t what public safety looks like,” he added. “This isn’t what justice looks like.”

Bonta said his office would treat reports received by his office as confidential. However, he added that he’s “clear-eyed” about what legal action the Trump administration may take.

“The federal government may not agree with that position,” he said.

California leaders and Trump have clashed frequently since the latter re-entered the White House early this year. They’ve sparred verbally over federal immigration enforcement and the federalization of the National Guard.

In response, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills he said targeted the chaos of Trump’s administration.

The bills, among other things, prohibit state school employees from allowing someone conducting immigration enforcement from entering a school without showing a valid judicial warrant or court order. They also prohibit health care entities from providing access to immigration authorities to nonpublic areas of their facility without such a warrant.

“We’re not going to stand by while anyone — including federal agents — abuses their authority in California,” Newsom said in a Wednesday statement. “This new portal gives Californians an easy and safe way to speak up, share what they see, and help us hold people accountable. No one is above the law.”

Perhaps the most high-profile bill focused on immigration enforcement is Senate Bill 627, called the No Secret Police Act. Written by state Senator Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, it bans local and federal authorities from wearing masks on duty, with some exceptions.

Opponents of the bill as well as some legal experts have said the bill will fail in court because of the supremacy clause, as federal law preempts state law.

“The department has a zero-tolerance policy for violence against law enforcement and will hold offenders accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” a U.S. Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement. “Any official promoting anti-police rhetoric and encouraging reckless behavior should think twice before inciting further violence and putting federal agents in harm’s way.”

Bill Essayli — first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California and a vocal critic of anti-masking laws — referenced what he called the federal government’s online portal in an X post.

“We have a portal too,” Essayli said. “People can report California state officials engaged in illegal activity at the following link: https://tips.fbi.gov.”