California Says Homicide Is Down, But Anti-Trans, Anti-Immigrant Hate Crimes Are Peaking

Arne Johnson, an advocate for the Bay Area-based group Rainbow Families Action, said he’s seen a sharp increase in anti-trans hate in California since 2024.

“The primary thing we’ve noticed is just how the rhetoric, laws and executive orders have emboldened hateful action and words on every level — things that previously would’ve been shameful or said privately,” he said.

Johnson said that while efforts to pass legislation that harms trans students haven’t succeeded in the Bay Area, their consideration “opens up opportunities for hateful rhetoric to be spoken in the presence of our families.”

The report comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision affirming birthright citizenship, after President Donald Trump tried to end the practice, and a ruling upholding states’ bans preventing transgender girls from playing on women’s school sports teams.

California state law includes protections for transgender children and student-athletes, but anti-trans controversy has surrounded the state’s recent interscholastic federation meetings, track-and-field championships, and collegiate volleyball after San José State University’s team included a transgender athlete in 2024.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly questioned the fairness of trans girls’ participation in women’s sports and suggested that state law should be changed to clarify when they can play on gendered teams. Sonja Shaw, one of the candidates who advanced to the runoff for the role of Superintendent of Public Instruction in November, has focused her campaign on parental rights and “protect[ing] our daughters.”

According to Pew Research Center data collected in 2025, Americans have become more supportive of laws restricting trans rights, including limiting the sports teams they can play on and gender-affirming care for minors, in recent years.

In March, a United Nations watchdog committee warned that “racist hate speech” by Trump and other political leaders, along with the administration’s immigration crackdowns, “sparked grave human rights violations,” including growing use of derogatory and dehumanizing language and stereotyping.

“Portraying them as criminals or as a burden, by politicians and influential public figures at the highest level, particularly the President,” the U.N. committee said, “may incite racial discrimination and hate crimes.”

California has been at the forefront of fighting Trump’s immigration crackdown, with Bonta leading multiple high-profile legal challenges to policies that withhold federal funding over immigration enforcement.

Despite the increases in some targeted hate incidents, overall hate crime incidents in the state decreased, along with other major crime levels.

Bonta said Wednesday that last year was the “safest on record” in terms of homicides and shootings since the state began collecting data in 1966.

The homicide rate decreased 18%, while violent crime was down 10.2%.

Property crime also dropped, spurred by a 25% decline in motor vehicle theft.

Bonta said the downward trends are in line with national progress, but are especially significant in the state. He credited improved law enforcement and state policy changes for the success.

“We’re holding more people accountable, and we’re deterring potential crimes,” Bonta said.

“These historic results show that when we invest in our communities, support law enforcement, crack down on organized crime, and expand prevention and intervention efforts, we can save lives and improve public safety,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is proving that smart, sustained investments are making a real difference for families across our state.”