California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2624, extending the Safe at Home address confidentiality program to immigrant support workers. Dubbed the Stop Nick Shirley Act by Republican critics, the law prompted a protest at the state Capitol on August 26, 2026, resulting in three arrests.
A legislative push to shield immigration advocates from harassment has ignited a political showdown in Sacramento, drawing hundreds of protesters, federal intervention requests, and First Amendment debates. The friction centers on Assembly Bill 2624, which allows immigration support services providers, employees and volunteers to enroll in California’s Safe at Home Program. The measure keeps participants’ home addresses out of public records and provides an alternative mailing address through the state secretary of state.
Governor Gavin Newsom approved the legislation following Democratic concerns over rising threats against immigration workers. Yet the law quickly earned a contentious moniker from its opponents: the Stop Nick Shirley Act. The name links the legislation directly to Nick Shirley, whose on-the-ground videos alleging fraud by immigrant-serving organizations have drawn attention online.
Assembly Bill 2624 Protections, Penalties, and Effective Date
Under the newly signed statute, enrolled immigration support providers, employees, and household family members can keep their home addresses confidential and vote confidentially. The legislation prohibits any person, business, or association from knowingly posting a participant’s personal information online with the intent to incite imminent great bodily harm.
Violators face a civil damages fine of $4,000, and providers gain the right to sue offenders directly in court.
The new immigrant services protections are scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2027.
The Capital Rally and Clashes Over the Stop Nick Shirley Act
Tensions boiled over on August 26, 2026, when about 500 demonstrators gathered on the Capitol steps to denounce the legislation. Protesters chanted slogans and waved flags, wearing shirts emblazoned with terms like Califraudia Republic.
Counterprotesters marched from Crocker Park carrying signs opposing fascism and chanting slogans against Nick Shirley and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Law enforcement officers from the California Highway Patrol and the Sacramento Police Department formed barricades between the opposing groups. The Sacramento Police Department reported two assault-related arrests, while the CHP announced a separate arrest, bringing the total to three detainees. Authorities did not disclose the affiliations of those arrested.
Nick Shirley addressed the crowd alongside Republican lawmakers, defending his investigations into government spending and publicly criticizing the legislation’s author, Assemblymember Mia Bonta. Politicians have learned that they can use immigrant communities and use nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) and funnel millions upon millions of your tax dollars into these nonprofits, NGOs, and for so long nobody ever looked into it. Then I did,
Nick Shirley said during the rally.
First Amendment Concerns and Calls for Federal Action
Conservative lawmakers and legal advocates argue that the law creates an unconstitutional barrier for journalists and citizens attempting to investigate government waste and taxpayer funding. State Senator Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, introduced Shirley at the rally and contended that the measure suppresses public accountability. I’m concerned that the new law raises serious amendment issues of the First Amendment and the freedom of speech and the freedom of press,
Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach said.
Opposition to the bill has also reached federal lawmakers. Nine members of Congress, led by Republican figures, urged United States Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate the measure and intervene in court.
Proponents of the legislation strongly reject the notion that it restricts journalism or public oversight. Assemblymember Mia Bonta defended the measure by emphasizing that it targets dangerous doxxing rather than legitimate reporting.
With the statute deferred until late 2027, opponents have signaled that courtroom challenges are imminent.