‘You seem to welcome immigrants who look like you’: Debate gets heated over immigration. Then, the Democrat candidate makes a serious accusation

California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra used a CNN debate on Wednesday night to accuse Republican rival Steve Hilton of favoring some immigrants over others, according to Mediaite. Becerra, who is Mexican-American, made the charge after the two candidates were asked about California’s limits on helping federal immigration authorities.

Moderator Jake Tapper said about one million people have been deported nationwide since 2025 under President Donald Trump. He then told Hilton that California law prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, except in cases involving dangerous criminals.

Tapper asked Hilton whether he would reverse that policy if he became governor. Hilton answered that he believes current California law already calls for cooperation between the state and the federal government.

Becerra accuses Hilton of applying two standards to immigrants

Hilton also said, “I’m an immigrant. My parents were immigrants from Hungary to England.” He accused California politicians of refusing to follow the law as it is written. Hilton was born in London and moved to the United States in 2012. The debate over immigration enforcement has grown more personal, as a former far-right activist who had advocated for aggressive enforcement was himself deported by ICE.  

Tapper asked him to clarify whether he would direct California law enforcement to assist the Trump administration’s mass deportations beyond dangerous criminals. Hilton replied, “It’s about enforcing the law.”

He said his whole aim 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,” Hilton said.

Becerra then turned to Hilton and said, “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.”

Becerra said he has fought all his life to make life better for immigrants, to represent them well, to defend them, and to let them grow and build, like his parents. Becerra’s accusation about who gets deported comes amid scrutiny of how ICE agents treated Latinos, as agents allegedly used slurs to describe Latinos during immigration raids last summer.

“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,” he said. “We need to have a governor who will protect everyone who works hard.” In response, Hilton called Becerra’s comments “disgraceful.”