In his last year as California’s governor, Jerry Brown—like his fellow Democrats—has embraced illegal aliens as part of the “resistance” to President Trump. Mr. Brown said Wednesday that the Justice Department was “basically going to war against the state of California.” The department has sued the state over three statutes designed to frustrate the enforcement of immigration laws, including one prohibiting private employers from cooperating with immigration authorities.

But in his first year as governor, Mr. Brown—like his...