Professor Johnson Talks to Bee About Potential for Immigration Crackdown in Sacramento

Professor Kevin R. Johnson spoke to Sacramento Bee reporter Matthew Miranda about a potential immigration crackdown in Sacramento in the lead-up to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As Miranda notes in the Jan. 10 story, U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested 78 people in Kern County in early January during a three-day operation by the Border Patrol El Centro Sector. An El Centro Sector official commented on Facebook about plans to target Fresno and Sacramento as well, but a spokesman contacted by The Bee would not confirm any future operations.

Johnson told Miranda that the recent arrests in Kern County were a “a sign of the times.” Trump has threatened mass deportations once he takes office. Although immigration arrests have occurred during the past four years, the highly visible, widely reported Kern County operation represents “a very different approach than we have seen for a number of years under Joe Biden,” Johnson said.

Kevin R. Johnson is a distinguished professor of law, Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law, and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law. Johnson also has an appointment as professor of Chicana/o studies at UC Davis. He served as dean of UC Davis Law from 2008 to 2024. Johnson is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.