LOS ANGELES — Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles on Monday announced the launch of a program to file complaints and arrest warrants to allow federal law enforcement to take defendants into federal custody from state jails.
The program, called Operation Guardian Angel, seeks “to neutralize California’s sanctuary state policy and protect Americans from criminal illegal aliens incarcerated in county jails by issuing federal arrest warrants for them,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
The program, which began May 10, has resulted in the arrest of 13 defendants on federal charges as of last Thursday, prosecutors said.
“Even the worst criminal aliens in state custody are frequently released into the community because California’s sanctuary state policies block cooperation with federal law enforcement,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “These laws effectively render federal immigration detainers meaningless. The days of giving criminal illegal aliens a free pass are over. While California may be presently disregarding detainers, it cannot ignore federal arrest warrants.”
An immigration detainer is a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement asking a federal, state or local law enforcement agency — including jails, prisons or other confinement facilities — to notify the requesting agency as early as possible before releasing a removable undocumented immigrant, and to hold the person for up to 48 hours beyond the scheduled release time so the U.S. Department of Homeland Security can assume custody under federal immigration law.
A release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the goal of Operation Guardian Angel is “to neutralize — as far as possible — California’s sanctuary state policy and make our community safer.”
The Central District of California — comprised of the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura — is home to an estimated 1.5 million undocumented immigrants, according to federal prosecutors.