California Gov. Gavin Newsom devoted part of his first State of the State address to attacking President Donald Trump's positions on illegal immigration, declaring, "This border emergency is nothing more than a manufactured crisis and California will not be part of this political theater."
On Monday, the Newsom ordered the withdrawal of most of the state's National Guard troops assigned to Trump's mission on the Mexican border.
Here's a look at the veracity of some of Newsom's claims in his State of the State speech:
NEWSOM CLAIM: "We are currently experiencing the lowest number of (illegal) border crossings since 1971. In California, like our nation, our undocumented population is at the lowest level in more than a decade — some 550,000 fewer in our state alone."
THE FACTS: The Governor got it wrong about the current low in illegal crossings. According to data on Border Patrol arrests, while arrests along the Mexican border fell to 303,916 in the 2017 budget year, the lowest since 1971, they increased significantly in 2018. Last year there were 396,579 arrests, which is still relatively low in historical terms, but a jump of 31 percent year over year.
The number of arrests have jumped up even higher on the Mexican border in the current budget year. So far, the number is nearly double from October through January compared to the same time one year ago.
Border Patrol arrests in the San Diego region dropped to a nearly 50-year low in 2017 but jumped 48 percent last year. Arrests during the first four months of the 2019 budget year shot up by 69 percent over the same time in the 2018 budget year.
Governor Newsom did get the facts right in regard to his statement about people living in the country illegally, according to the Pew Research Center. The nationwide number fell to 10.7 million in 2016 from 12.2 million in 2007; California's dropped to 2.2 million from more than 2.7 million during the same time.