Democrat Accuses White Opponent of Wanting to ‘Deport Immigrants Who Look Like Me’ in Tense Debate Moment

California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra took a pointed shot at his Republican rival Steve Hilton, accusing the British-born candidate of only wanting to “deport immigrants who look like me.”

The moment came during a CNN-moderated debate on Wednesday night. The network’s Jake Tapper first noted, “Nationwide, about one million people have been deported since 2025” under President Donald Trump.

Speaking to Hilton directly, Tapper continued, “California law prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, except in cases involving dangerous criminals. As governor, would you reverse that policy?”

Emphasizing that he believes current California law actually does call for “cooperation” between states and the federal government, the Republican candidate added, “I’m an immigrant. My parents were immigrants from Hungary to England,” before accusing California politicians of “refus[ing] to follow the law as it’s written.”

Hilton moved to the U.S. in 2012. He was born in London.

“Just to clarify,” Tapper pressed, “would you direct California law enforcement to assist the Trump administration’s mass deportations beyond dangerous criminals?”

“It’s about enforcing the law,” Hilton responded. “My whole aim here would be to lower the temperature. We’ve got to get this whole debate back to where most people want it to be, which is to prioritize the removal of dangerous criminals.”

Becerra, a Mexican-American, hit back:

Steve, you’re running for governor of California, and you’ll enforce Trump’s laws at the federal level, but you won’t enforce state laws at our level. California welcomed you into California, and you welcomed ICE mercenaries into our state in return. How do you square that? You know, you’re an immigrant.

I have fought all my life to make life better for immigrants, to represent them well, to defend them, to let them grow and build, like my parents. But here’s the problem I have with your policies — you seem to welcome immigrants who look like you but deport immigrants who look like me. We need to have a governor who will protect everyone who works hard.

Hilton went on to call Becerra’s comments “disgraceful.”

Watch the above on CNN.

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