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California Angel Mom Agnes Gibboney, who lost her son in an illegal alien-involved shooting, is blasting Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats over a proposed bill that would use taxpayer dollars to fund legal defense for immigrants facing deportation. She urged voters to "stop this insanity."
State lawmakers are considering a proposal that would expand access to taxpayer-funded legal representation for immigrants facing deportation proceedings. The measure would build on existing state programs by creating a framework to provide attorneys to adults in immigration court, regardless of legal status, with priority given to those in detention. This comes as California, and other sanctuary states across the country, are facing increasing pressure and scrutiny from the Trump administration for allegedly prioritizing illegal aliens over citizens.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Gibboney, whose son, Ronald, was shot and killed by an illegal alien, ripped into Newsom and California Democrats over the bill. She claimed that it is further proof that they care for illegal immigrants more than citizens.
"My son was murdered," she said. "Not one politician has ever contacted me. Not one politician said, ‘I'm so sorry that this previously deported criminal illegal alien shot and killed your son.’ Not one of them."
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Gibboney said that since losing her son in 2002, she sent Newsom "many, many emails," and "never once did I get a response, not even from his office, much less from Newsom."
Newsom has not signaled whether he would sign the bill into law. He previously signed legislation that created and expanded a state-funded legal aid program to ensure legal representation for unaccompanied immigrant children in deportation proceedings.
Ronald da Silva, 29, the son of a law enforcement official, was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant gang member while standing in his driveway.
Gibboney asserted that "Newsom doesn't care about citizens of this country, about legal immigrants like myself. He cares about free votes from illegal aliens."
Regarding the legal defense bill, Gibboney said she is "outraged."
"California is about three to 400 billion, with a ‘B,’ dollars in debt. How is that possible? How much more can you milk us citizens?" she railed.
Meanwhile, for citizens, she said, "everything has gotten worse" under Newsom.
"We have the highest tax in the entire country, we have the highest cost of living, the most homeless," she said, adding, "We are number one on everything, and nothing number one in good things, it's always on the bad things."
"We taxpayers keep paying more and more each year for taxes just so our government, actually Gavin Newsom, can hand it out and squander our tax dollars and give it to illegal aliens."
The bill, introduced by Democratic Assemblymember Mia Bonta in February, advanced out of two Assembly policy committees and is currently under review in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
In addition to Gibboney, the bill has garnered significant outrage, including from The American Border Story, a group that advocates on behalf of the families of victims of migrant crime. Earlier this month, the group condemned the measure as "a grave affront to Angel Families across the country who have suffered immeasurable loss at the hands of foreign criminals." The group asserted that the bill "actively incentivizes illegal immigration and directly undermines the progress achieved by the Trump administration since the President’s second inauguration."
At the same time, the bill has been lauded by some, such as Abraham Bedoy, manager of California policy and government affairs for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Bedoy said in a March statement that "increasing immigrant legal defense is critical to address the mass deportations, unprecedented numbers of people held in detention, and indiscriminate arrests devastating families, communities, and our economy across our state."
He called the measure "another important step in our state’s strong trajectory towards universal legal representation."
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While the bill does not explicitly outline all its exclusions, existing California policy suggests some immigrants with certain criminal histories could be excluded or deprioritized under any expanded program. California has already moved to limit state-funded legal aid in certain immigration cases, particularly for individuals with serious or violent felony convictions.
Bonta, who represents the Oakland area, framed her bill as ensuring "every Californian’s right to a fair hearing."
In a March statement, Bonta's office said the bill "builds on" her earlier bill to expand access to counsel for unaccompanied minors and other young immigrants in removal proceedings. That bill was signed into law by Newsom last year.
"Every person deserves their day in court, with a lawyer by their side. In California, thousands of our neighbors are being swept into one of the most complex legal systems in the country, often in a second language, without an attorney or a fair shot," she said in a March statement.
She decried the Trump administration’s "mass deportation machine," saying it is "accelerating that injustice."
"[The bill] represents California’s chance to stand up for our values: a commitment to due process, dignity, and the principle that justice shouldn’t depend on what you can afford," said Bonta.
Gibboney, however, said California should "use that money appropriately."
"Use it for our education, which is failing … Use it for the veterans for better healthcare and for the seniors for better healthcare," she suggested.
She urged Newsom to "recall his oath of office is to serve us, the public, we the people, not those that broke into our country and came here illegally."
"Ronald was my firstborn and only son. He was 29 years old, a father of two. They were eight and 10," she shared. "The media usually doesn't talk about that kind of family separations, six feet of dirt in a coffin. But they talk about the ones that are deported to their country, where they can go back and visit and be reunited. I can never be reunited with my son."
While expressing she is grateful that Newsom is term-limited, Gibboney urged California voters to vote to "stop this insanity," saying, "Yesterday it was my son that was shot by a previously deported criminal illegal alien. Tomorrow it could be your child."
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