Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2624 on Saturday. Republicans call it the Stop Nick Shirley Act. The law expands the state’s existing Safe at Home address-confidentiality program to cover employees and volunteers who work for nonprofits providing immigration support services. Those workers can now get substitute mailing addresses that government agencies must accept. It also makes it illegal to post their personal information or images online with the intent to incite violence or put them in reasonable fear for their safety.
The program already covered domestic violence survivors, certain health-care workers, and other categories. This version adds the immigration-services category. It takes effect October 1, 2027. Applicants will have to show a documented threat tied to their work within the prior year and register with the state.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! California Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed the Stop Nick Shirley Act into LAW, which was pushed by the CA AG’s wife to punish journalists that confront fraudsters and immigrant centers
He’s not even hiding it.
Journalists could face FINES and PRISON for exposing the… pic.twitter.com/cuedBBl67F
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 23, 2026
Why the Nickname Stuck
Independent journalist Nick Shirley has spent the last year filming and publishing videos that allege widespread fraud in immigrant-linked service providers. His Minnesota daycare investigations went viral. He then turned the camera on California hospice operations and other taxpayer-supported outfits. Republican lawmakers attached his name to the bill because they see the timing and the target as no coincidence. The measure’s author and supporters insist it is only about protecting people from doxxing and threats. Critics say the practical effect is to raise the legal risk for anyone who records, identifies, or publicizes the people running these operations.
The text does not ban journalism or investigations by name. It does create a new protected class whose home addresses become harder to find and whose images become riskier to post if someone later claims the post was meant to harass. In a state where immigration nonprofits receive substantial public and private money, that change matters.
What the Law Actually Does
Eligible workers get a confidential address. Public records requests that would otherwise turn up a home address now hit a wall. Posting certain personal details online with the forbidden intent becomes a separate offense under the expanded framework. The state already runs the Safe at Home machinery, so the infrastructure exists. The new group simply gets access starting in late 2027.
BREAKING: CA Democrats Just Passed AB 2624 – The “Stop Nick Shirley Act” – that makes it illegal to post videos of fraud against taxpayers. I rose to speak in opposition – and they repeatedly silenced me like they intend to silence citizen journalists! WATCH: pic.twitter.com/2W0HuZsQyu
— Carl DeMaio (@carldemaio) August 19, 2026
Supporters frame this as an overdue response to rising threats against people who help immigrants navigate the system. Opponents note that the same political class that expands benefits and services for illegal immigrants is now expanding legal shields around the people who deliver those services. When citizen journalists start documenting empty facilities, missing children, or billing irregularities, the response is confidentiality rather than audits.
What Happens Next
The Secretary of State’s office will write the implementing rules. Registration will open in 2027. Expect an early wave of applications from the largest immigration-service nonprofits. Legal challenges are almost certain. First Amendment groups and reporters will argue the posting restrictions are overbroad and chill legitimate investigation of public spending and potential fraud. Courts will have to decide how far “intent to harass” can stretch when the underlying activity is filming public-facing operations or identifying people who receive government money.
Politically the fight continues. Fraud in immigration-related programs is not theoretical. Multiple states have seen documented cases of benefits abuse, ghost enrollments, and billing schemes. Shielding the operators from basic public accountability does not fix the underlying problem. It makes the problem harder to document. Taxpayers who fund the system have a right to know whether the money is producing the claimed results. Making the people who handle the money harder to find is a strange way to promote integrity.
California has chosen its priority. Privacy for the service providers comes first. Transparency for the public comes second. The law is on the books. The cameras will keep rolling anyway. The only question is how many extra legal hurdles the state just placed in front of the people holding the cameras.
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