Sect. of State Padilla still resists Trump voter records request

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Sect. of State Padilla still resists Trump voter records request 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla blasted President Trump’s plan to reduce legal immigration over the next decade as “an unconscionable position to take and one that has no respect, frankly, for the history of our nation as a whole.”

The bill proposed by Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Sonny Perdue, R-Ga., and backed by President Trump would bar people from sponsoring siblings, parents and adult children who are citizens of other countries from immigrating to the U.S. and obtaining green cards, which confer legal residency status. They could still sponsor spouses and minor children.

Padilla, the child of Mexican immigrants, said the proposal overlooks the vital contributions immigrants have long made to American life.

“To deny that is not only morally wrong but is not in our country’s economic interest especially,” Padilla told Chronicle political reporters Joe Garofoli and John Wildermuth Thursday during an episode of the “It’s All Political” video podcast.

Padilla also vowed to continue to refuse to give information to Trump’s voter fraud commission. This week, New York became the first state to turn over information requested by the panel after initially declining to comply. State officials in New York said handing over information including voter names, birth dates, addresses and voting history complied with open records laws.

Padilla said that’s not the case in California.

“The voter file in California is not public information. It is made available to certain people and for certain uses,” Padilla said, such as an academic doing scholarly research on a political campaign.

He called Trump’s commission a sham and vowed that California would continue to resist giving it information.

“I have a lot of reasons to not participate or legitimize this commission,” Padilla said. “And we’re going to keep battling.”

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicle’s senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli