Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Nick Shirley Stop Act into law on Saturday, putting Assembly Bill 2624 on the books in California. The measure expands Safe at Home to employees of nonprofits that serve people navigating the immigration system.
Assembly Bill 2624
Assembly Bill 2624 adds a new group to a program that already covers domestic violence survivors, elder abuse victims and reproductive and gender-affirming health care workers. Safe at Home gives substitute mailing addresses to people considered particularly vulnerable to targeted attacks and violent threats.
Democratic Assemblywoman Mia Bonta introduced the bill in February after reports of increased threats and harassment against immigration service providers. She said, "Our immigrant service providers are living in fear because of extremists looking to demonize the work that they do and the populations they serve" and added, "that is an intolerable consequence of the anti-immigrant rhetoric that exists right now."
Nick Shirley and Sacramento
Republicans gave the measure the nickname "Stop Nick Shirley Act," a label coined by Assemblyman Carl DeMaio. Nick Shirley is an independent journalist and YouTuber who has made videos following immigrant workers and accusing them of fraud. Shirley said AB 2624 was created after he exposed widespread fraud in immigrant communities in California and Minnesota.
The dispute sharpened after Shirley traveled to San Diego following the viral success of videos he produced about Minnesota. Newsom said in February that Somali daycare providers in Minnesota were "under siege" following Shirley's arrival.
Terry Schanz
On Wednesday, Terry Schanz allegedly barged into Shirley's sidewalk interview outside the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Schanz, the chief of staff to Democratic Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, held up a printed flyer and asked, "Did you guys hear that Nick Shirley has a small penis allegedly?"
Multiple complaints have since been filed with the California Legislature's HR department, and Schanz is expected to face consequences. His name also surfaced in a 2025 wrongful-termination lawsuit containing allegations of political bullying and a toxic workplace culture within top Assembly leadership.
The law now extends substitute-address protection to employees of nonprofits serving people navigating the immigration system, but the fight around it has shifted to how California Legislature HR handles the complaints against Schanz. For Shirley, the bill's passage makes him part of the debate it was designed around, not the only subject of it.
