Republican California gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco is facing renewed scrutiny from the right after earlier interviews resurfaced in which he pledged to fight for a path to citizenship for certain non-criminal migrants who entered the state during the Biden administration.
The resurfaced comments, highlighted by Conservative Daily News, come at a time when immigration remains a flashpoint nationally but ranks relatively low among priorities for California voters, according to a recent Emerson College poll, even as protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations continue across the state. In a November 2025 interview with Pastura California, a Southern California-based collective of farmers and media producers, Bianco sat down on a farm site to discuss the intersection of agriculture and immigration, a politically sensitive topic in a state whose economy is deeply dependent on migrant labor.
During that conversation, the interviewer pressed Bianco on whether he could reassure seasonal workers that they would be able to continue working in the fields without fear of being mistaken for illegal aliens and deported. The host also asked whether Bianco had a plan to ensure that American citizens would eventually fill seasonal farm jobs, suggesting that more Future Farmers of America (FFA) classes be added to high school curricula to rebuild a domestic agricultural workforce.
Bianco opened his response by arguing that younger generations have been intentionally pushed away from agricultural life, describing that trend as by design and absolutely wrong. He endorsed expanding FFA programs in schools and quickly pivoted to the broader immigration debate, describing the current system as broken and identifying it as the second major factor undermining both farming and border integrity.
It is completely the fault of politicians in Washington, Republicans and Democrats, because they shouldve fixed this decades ago, Bianco said, placing blame squarely on the bipartisan political class that has presided over decades of failed reform. The real issue that we have is you cannot have immigration, unfettered immigration and unrestricted immigration into a country that is a welfare state. That has welfare where you only are coming into the country for free stuff.
Bianco contrasted todays mass migration with his own familys experience coming from Italy, recalling that earlier waves of immigrants arrived in the United States seeking jobs and opportunity rather than government benefits. He reflected that many families in that era wanted to work hard to succeed, a theme that resonates strongly with conservatives who distinguish between legal, work-oriented immigration and the current influx driven by lax enforcement and expansive welfare programs.
The people that are coming here now, especially illegally are coming here for free stuff. And then we are the ones that are paying for that. So the immigration system has to be fixed. We have to have a secure border. It is secure right now. But we have a major issue with people who are here illegally, Bianco continued. We have to fix that process. His remarks underscored a core conservative concern: that open-border policies combined with a generous welfare state create unsustainable incentives that burden taxpayers and erode the rule of law.
Californias agricultural sector, one of the largest in the world, has long relied on seasonal farmworkers, many of them foreign nationals on temporary work visas, to sustain its vast production of fruits, nuts, vegetables and other high-value crops. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labors Office of Foreign Labor Certification, federal authorities certified 40,758 H-2A positions in California for temporary agricultural jobs in fiscal year 2023, illustrating the scale of the states dependence on migrant labor even under existing legal channels.
Against that backdrop, Bianco noted that some migrants who entered during the Biden administration did so legally, in the sense that they were allowed into the country by federal authorities, but later extended how long they could stay. He argued that because many of these individuals have now overstayed their visas, the process is clearly dysfunctional and must be repaired by the federal government, which alone controls immigration law and enforcement.
California is one of the largest immigrant populations in the country and illegal immigrant populations in the country, Bianco said, acknowledging the states unique demographic and legal challenges. But we have to address it. We have to make it right. Whether they came across illegally into the country legally or not is irrelevant, because we allowed it to happen. So now we just have to fix it. Secure our borders. Dont let it happen again.
And now we have to give a path to citizenship to the ones that are here, he added, in the line that has drawn the most attention from conservatives wary of anything resembling amnesty. We have to create a way for them to become U.S. citizens and productive, make their families great. If they truly did come here to make their lives and their families lives better, we have to get to a position where we allow that to happen.
At the same time, Bianco insisted that his compassion does not extend to those who violate American laws once they arrive, drawing a sharp distinction between law-abiding workers and criminal offenders. However, he said, if theyre here and theyre breaking our laws and committing crimes, theyve got to go back. Were not going to allow them to stay here to violate our social norms and our rules of law and victimize us. So the ones that are here illegally that are committing crimes, theyve got to be sent back.
The interviewer agreed, interjecting that criminal illegal migrants should be immediately deported and should not be allowed to remain in the country wasting taxpayer money on incarceration and public services. Absolutely, Bianco responded, before reiterating his broader objective. But as the governor of California, we will fight for a path to citizenship. And I will use my influence as the greatest state and the biggest state in the country on the president and on Congress. We will utilize Florida and Texas because they want the same things.
It is our failed politicians that are not making this happen, Bianco added, returning to his criticism of Washingtons entrenched political class. The reason being is they use that as an election argument every single four years saying, Oh, if you elect me, Ill fix it. If you elect me, Ill fix it. Ill help fix it. Its been 50 years and nobodys fixed it. So you put me in position and we will absolutely make sure it will be done because we know it has to be done.
In a separate interview from April 2025, Bianco elaborated on his views regarding Californias sanctuary state policies and what he described as an open border posture under Democratic leadership. Asked by podcast host Britt Mayer to address Senate Bill 54, the 2017 law signed by former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown that designated California a sanctuary state, Bianco argued that the measure has been fundamentally misrepresented to the public.
Under SB 54, state and local law enforcement agencies are heavily restricted in their ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, a policy long championed by progressives and sharply opposed by conservatives who see it as a direct assault on federal law. Bianco called SB 54 another lie sold to the public because, in his view, it primarily shields criminal illegal migrants rather than protecting otherwise law-abiding individuals who are in the state illegally but busting their butt to make a better life for their family.
Because, in the end, never has law enforcement ever cared if anybody was illegal. All we care about are you a victim or a suspect? Why did you call us? Bianco asked, describing what he sees as the proper focus of policing. We absolutely must this is the fine line. I dont want my line deputies, my patrol deputies absolutely cannot be cooperating with the federal government in immigration reform, because the people that we go to help are calling for our help. They are being victimized.
He warned that if people are too afraid to report crimes because theyre afraid of being deported themselves, then law enforcement cannot protect genuine victims or remove dangerous offenders from the streets. If a woman is raped and she will not report that to law enforcement because she believes shes going to be deported then we are failing as an absolute country, Bianco added. Because we should be only caring about who victimized that poor girl or woman or man? It doesnt matter and how can we make sure we get that criminal off the streets and behind bars and if theyre illegal they need to be deported immediately.
Bianco then outlined what he described as his solution to Californias immigration dilemma: establishing a path for citizenship for hard-working, non-criminal immigrants who genuinely love the United States. He suggested that such individuals could be allowed to accelerate their path to legal status by serving in the military, law enforcement, agriculture, building trades or hospitality industries, effectively tying citizenship to demonstrable service and contribution rather than mere presence.
His approach echoes, in some respects, the pragmatic stance taken by former Republican California Gov. Ronald Reagan, who eventually tolerated the agriculture industrys hiring of illegal workers to fill labor shortages after federal guest worker programs like the Bracero Program were terminated. As president, Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, which offered a one-time path to legalization for roughly 3 million illegal immigrants who had resided in the United States prior to 1982, including special provisions for seasonal agricultural workers.
That historical precedent remains controversial on the right, with many conservatives now arguing that IRCAs amnesty provisions encouraged further illegal immigration by signaling that violations would eventually be forgiven. Against that backdrop, Bianco has been at pains to clarify that, despite his talk of a path to citizenship, he rejects blanket amnesty and insists on strict consequences for lawbreakers, including those currently in the naturalization pipeline.
In a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation, Bianco insisted that his position is consistent and rooted in a conservative critique of Washingtons failures. He described immigration as a convoluted problem created by politicians and stressed that the federal government must act immediately to fix a broken immigration system.
California Sanctuary state status must absolutely be removed. I am completely against amnesty. Every single person who is not only here illegally, but also those in the process of gaining citizenship, who violate our laws must be returned to the country they came from. Zero exceptions, Bianco told the DCNF. Those who were here legally, who for whatever reason are now not, must have a civilized way of remedying their situation.
We must stop allowing our emotions and hatred to ruin California. Its bad enough I am fighting failed progressive agendas, now I have to fight lies and misinformation from candidates claiming to be Republicans, Bianco added, signaling that he sees himself not only in conflict with the left but also with elements inside his own party. For conservative voters, the question now is whether Biancos call for a tightly conditioned path to citizenship for certain migrants can be reconciled with the hard line many on the right demand after decades of broken promises, or whether any such pathway will be viewed as repeating the mistakes of the past under a new label.
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