California Residents Fear Dem Bill Could Lead Traffickers To Take Kids From Parents ‘Without Them Knowing’

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Voters from across California gathered Tuesday on the steps of the state Capitol to join Calvary Chapel Chino Hills Pastor Jack Hibbs in opposing new legislation that would expand who can serve as a caregiver for minors.

Braving the heat, attendees traveled by bus, plane and car to rally against AB 495, the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025, which largely affects children of illegal immigrant parents. Introduced in February by Democratic Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, the bill has drawn strong pushback from voters, who told the Daily Caller News Foundation they are dissatisfied with the bill’s language and concerned about children potentially ending up in the hands of a trafficker.

AB 495 would expand who can serve as a caregiver through a single-page affidavit, including nonrelatives. The new caregiver would then have the right to make decisions like “school-related medical care” without the school or health provider being liable, according to the text.

Lots of ppl out here supporting the protest of AB 495 — GOP senators, media personalities and pastors all speaking out. Got a variety of signs as well, including “Evict Gavin Newsom” @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/cjcXbUtpdl

— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) August 19, 2025

The Rally Call

A rally call from Hibbs was first sent out in July during a church service and subsequently posted to his social media.

“I need all of you to take August 19th off. Just plan on having a sore throat or something that day. I’m gonna ask all of you to drive, bus, fly, I don’t care how you get there,” Hibbs said in a video. “But I want you to meet me at the Capitol Steps in Sacramento, because Sacramento, our elected leaders are right now trying to get a bill passed that’s the unthinkable.”

While the legislation could potentially affect all children in California, Democrats have specified that the guardianship handoff is intended to aid illegal immigrant families facing deportation or immigration detention.

The issue many have taken with the bill stems from the affidavit, which requests basic information about the minor before asking the “relative or nonrelative” caregiver to check whether they have notified the parent without objection or were unable to contact the parent. The only identification required is a driver’s license, state ID card, or government-issued consular card number, according to the affidavit.

Notably, the affidavit states for school officials and health care providers that a “parent’s signature, seal, or court signature is not required.”

When asked what inspired the rally against the legislation, Hibbs told the DCNF that it was simply because the bill is “wrong.”

“It’s bad. We love the kids if they’re here legally or illegally. They’re children,” Hibbs said. “So when we heard about the bill, and we’re grateful by the way, we actually have friends in this building that let us know right at the get-go, ‘Hey, this is coming out.’ So we began studying it. Then we sent it over to some great legal minds across the United States. They said this is really, it’s bad and it’s even worse.”

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“So I don’t fight everything, but I fight the stuff that is going to attack innocence. I fight the things that’s going to destroy the home, for example, or faith,” Hibbs added. “I don’t care if you’re Jewish, atheist, Muslim, or Christian. I’m going to stand for your right to be those things. I don’t fight taxes and I don’t fight this thing or the other. What caused me to be motivated was the absolute danger that this bill, AB495, brings to a child who is in the borders of California.”

Despite concerns from voters like Hibbs, Democrats have pushed back, saying the bill would aid illegal immigrant families facing separation. In July, the Los Angeles City Council approved a resolution, approving the bill as Councilwoman Imelda Padilla applauded Rodriguez for her “leadership” with the legislation.

“No child should face separation without a plan, and no family should be left vulnerable. Creating a family action plan is incredibly important, especially in a time when our hardworking immigrant families are being unfairly targeted and forced to live in fear,” Padilla said.

The Democrat-led state has recently had an uptick in raids from federal agencies following President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities and across the U.S. With over 7 million illegal migrants estimated to have crossed during the Biden administration’s border crisis, California reports show that 2.6 million are believed to be living in the state as of 2022. 

In 2023, The New York Times reported on the exploitation of migrant children in brutal labor jobs, partly due to rushed sponsor vetting, with Health and Human Services (HHS) checks conducted only by phone. By 2024, whistleblowers from HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement warned that more than 300,000 children were missing after policies such as DNA collection to verify sponsors’ identities and background checks for certain household members were scrapped under the Biden administration.

However, despite Democratic support, Hibbs told the DCNF that while the state is predominantly blue, not all party lawmakers “have lost their minds.”

“The problem is California has the most Democrats than any other state. But some of those Democrats are not crazy,” Hibbs told the DCNF. “Not all of them have lost their minds. I think there’s Democrats who have kids who are concerned that if their child is in a school setting, that if this bill is passed by Newsom, that somebody could take their kid out without them knowing about it.”

“I think they have a heart. Not all of them have gone over the deep end. I think in this upcoming election in 2026, we’re asking for Democrats and Republicans to actually get up off their rear end and vote and Democrats to really start thinking, how is this going to end? How is this going to work? And so it’s vitally important,” Hibbs said.

Meet Us On The Capitol Steps

GOP leaders like California state Sen. Tony Strickland, media personalities and various pastors were seen speaking to the massive crowd of voters and called out the bill’s vague text.

“This measure has unintended consequences for sex traffickers [who] could easily exploit this loophole since AB 495 allows nearly, any, unrelated adult to obtain custody [and] control over your child without parental knowledge or consent,” Strickland said. “This is one of the worst bills. I’ve been active for over 15 years, [and it’s] one of the worst bills I’ve seen in this building, and that’s saying something.”

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Parental rights groups like Moms for Liberty were also in attendance, with the group’s Shasta County chair, Leslie Sawyer, telling the DCNF that a fellow member from Placer County, Chapter Chair Nicolle Young, and attorney Nicole C. Pearson were turned down by Democrats when trying to “close all the loopholes that make this bill dangerous” after testifying on the legislation.

“They don’t want the loopholes closed. They want this to be a very vague and broad bill, because it allows for anybody to come in and take your child and become their adult, and that is unsafe. It’s unsafe on so many levels,” Sawyer said. “One, it’s a trafficker’s dream. Two, it allows any child who disagrees with your decision as a parent to just go pick whoever they want, and then it takes control.”

“They’ve been trying to wither away parental rights for years, and this is one more step to do it, and they’re trying to put it under the guise of we’re protecting immigrant children,” Sawyer added. “If they were doing that, they would have taken Nicole’s offer up, and they would have closed that.”

Mom’s For Liberty group joins AB 495 Rally [Taken by DCNF]

When asked if Democratic lawmakers had responded to their calls to amend the single-page affidavit or offered any support for changes, Young said there has been no response.

“In the Senate, it was as if we didn’t speak,” Young told the DCNF, reflecting on her testimony to lawmakers. “There was never a question redirected, even when the attorney offered to help amend the bill pro bono and help immigrant families set up lands pro bono. She even waited for the member to come out of the hearing to reiterate that offer.”

“So they’re just dead set on what it is right now. I think that’s part of the way this legislature works. Because we have a super majority, because they are very powerful. It’s you toe the line, or we will make you pay,” Young added. “So nobody wants to prompt them because they don’t want their press passes revoked. They don’t want the keys to their office changed. They don’t want to be taken off their committees. They don’t want to be told they can’t park in the Capitol garage. All of these things that I am naming have happened to Democrats who have stood up for their constituents, but have bucked the Democrat party.”

The DCNF reached out to Rodriguez’s office for comment about the rally. Rodriguez responded by criticizing “cruel and unlawful federal immigration enforcement actions,” which she said have spread fear throughout communities in the state.

“I am working on AB 495 with trusted legal attorneys and children’s advocates to help families facing family separation make caregiving arrangements,” Rodriguez told the DCNF. “The Family Preparedness Plan Act educates childcare providers to prepare for ice raids and strengthens legal tools for families to make caregiving arrangements and remain unified after separation due to detention, deportation, or hospitalization.”

Lobby In The Capitol 

After the rally ended, lines trailed out of the state Capitol and wrapped around the Capitol Annex building as voters waited in the heat to pass through security to lobby both Republicans and Democrats on voting “no” for AB 495.

One group observed by the DCNF made their way to Rodriguez’s office to see if she would hear their pleas to either amend or kill the bill. Waiting outside Rodriguez’s office, where a sign indicated she was in a meeting, the group was never able to speak with the Democrat. Even after waiting past 5 p.m. local time, Rodriguez did not emerge as her staff left for the day.

Assemblymember Rodriguez’s door closed while voters lobbied in Capitol Annex [Taken by DCNF]

In her statement to the DCNF, Rodriguez also emphasized that the caregiver’s authorization affidavit “does not grant any level of legal custody, does not bypass child welfare protections, does not prevent authorities from investigating abuse or trafficking concerns, and does not supersede any parents’ rights.”

“Any claim that the bill legalizes human trafficking and kidnapping is not only false, but harmful fearmongering that distracts from the actual goal of protecting vulnerable children in times of crisis,” Rodriguez said.

AB 495 was placed on suspension Monday after a hearing by the state Senate Appropriations Committee. According to the committee’s website, suspension allows lawmakers to weigh the overall fiscal impact of legislation.

While the bill is not officially dead, it remains unclear when lawmakers will decide whether to lift or end it.