Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is running for governor of California ahead of the 2026 election, told Newsmax on Sunday that Democrat lawmakers are endangering law enforcement officers and the public through policies that undermine police and accused them of having a "love affair" with criminals.
"It's extremely dangerous," Bianco said on Newsmax's "Sunday Report," responding to Democrats' efforts to unmask ICE agents involved in recent arrests.
He noted that Democrats who previously defended the anonymity of criminals now want officers exposed.
"It's interesting that they didn't want criminals unmasked a couple of months ago, but now they want law enforcement unmasked," the Republican said. "The problem that they're having is they can't identify them to terrorize them at their homes and their kids at school and everything else, and that's what the Democrat Party wants."
Bianco said protecting law enforcement identities is vital for their safety.
"It is a safety factor for these law enforcement officers, whether it's local or whether it's federal, to make sure that they cannot be identified, especially during these protest enforcements and things like that," he said.
The sheriff also pointed to a deadly truck crash involving a 21-year-old illegal immigrant from India as evidence of California's failed policies.
"This is just another example of the love affair that Democrats have with criminals, particularly in this state," Bianco said.
He blamed California's sanctuary laws for preventing police from even identifying illegal immigrants.
"They have made us a sanctuary state where we cannot even try and identify anyone that's here illegally," he said.
"And then they give them driver's licenses willingly," the sheriff added. "You can't ask for proof of citizenship. You just fill out the application, you lie on it, and then you get your driver's license."
Bianco said this will continue "until good people, until good Americans stand up and say, enough is enough. We are not going to keep making it to where criminals are enabled to keep harming us."
When asked about President Donald Trump's plan to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco, Bianco said Gov. Gavin Newsom has failed to protect Californians.
"The number one role of government is to protect its citizens," he said. "And Gavin Newsom has proven for decades that he has no interest in protecting California."
He said if Newsom were doing his job, "California would not be the prime example of what not to do for the world."
"We would be doing things right. We would be doing [it in a] safe [way], and we wouldn't be fighting with the president at every turn," Bianco added. "We have to start caring about Californians instead of this ridiculous political ideology."
Bianco said the conditions in San Francisco have deteriorated badly.
"It's horrible," he said. "Businesses are all leaving. Residents are all leaving."
He described how widespread theft has changed daily life in the city.
"When you park your car on the street and you roll down your windows so people won't break your windows to get into your car, you know there is something seriously wrong, and the governor knows it," he said.
Bianco said Newsom's policies began years ago when he led San Francisco and have now spread statewide.
"He started this back when he was mayor of San Francisco, and he's continued it to the entire state, enabling criminal behavior," he said.
He added that residents in San Francisco and Oakland "are begging for help from any law enforcement, including the federal government."
"We just see over and over this complete fraud of a governor, Gavin Newsom, trying to appease to his base," Bianco said. "And we're the victims."
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