A gavel on the line

California state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez is facing calls to lose her chairmanship of the Senate Education Committee over an immigration summit she appeared at.

What the professor said

At the La Defensa Del Pueblo summit, Cal State LA professor Melina Abdullah named an ICE agent, said he "may be staying" at a local Hilton Garden Inn, and read out the street address.

Repeated to the crowd

Abdullah told the room again and again to "f, - him up." She later said the phrase could mean exposing agents or making them uncomfortable, and urged attendees to "study guerrilla warfare."

“study guerrilla warfare”

Who the professor is

Abdullah teaches Pan-African Studies at Cal State LA and leads Black Lives Matter Los Angeles. The university calls her a "scholar-activist" who ties her academic work to movement politics.

Then Pérez took the mic

Speaking right after, Pérez called Abdullah her old college professor and said it was an honor to share the stage. She earned her degrees at Cal State LA before entering politics.

“It's such an honor to share space with you”

The Republican demand

California Republican Party delegate and attorney Elizabeth Barcohana told Fox News Digital that Pérez should be stripped of the education chairmanship.

“I believe Pérez should be removed as chair of education committee”

Pérez says video was cut

Pérez said a heavily edited clip made it look like she smiled at the violent remarks. The full video, she said, shows she was reacting to separate comments about young people's courage.

“my silence during another panelist's remarks must never be misrepresented as agreement”

Condemning all sides

She condemned violence "in all its forms," naming deaths she attributed to government agents and the killing of Charlie Kirk, and said she will fight through lawful democratic action only.

“Political disagreement is not a license for racism, intimidation, or violence”

The law she wrote

Pérez authored SB 98, the SAFE Act, requiring K-12 schools and colleges to alert their communities when immigration enforcement is confirmed on campus.

Signed with urgency

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 98 in September 2025 with an urgency clause, so it took effect immediately. Her office compares the alerts to other campus emergency warnings.

Why she pushed it

Introducing the bill in January 2025, her office pointed to the Trump administration scrapping Biden-era limits on enforcement in "protected areas" like schools.

“The Trump administration has made clear that no place is safe from mass deportations”

The critic ties it together

Barcohana argued the bill turns California schools into participants in ICE resistance, and separately claimed Pérez gutted an antisemitism bill as committee chair.

The university steps back

Cal State LA said the event was not sponsored or authorized by the school and Abdullah attended as an individual. It respects free speech but does not condone threats or violence.

“The university respects free speech, including speech with which the university strongly disagrees”

Washington and Sacramento answer

DHS called SB 98 a political stunt and said no state law will stop federal officers. GOP state Sen. Tony Strickland said credible threats and targeted harassment must be investigated.

“Political disagreement does not justify intimidation or putting an officer and his family at risk”