(INSIDE CALIFORNIA POLITICS) — U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli is defending President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operations in Southern California, saying state law is the reason people without criminal histories are getting swept up in the raids.
Essayli told Inside California Politics host Nikki Laurenzo that federal agents are limited by California’s sanctuary state law, which prohibits local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities. An L.A. Times report released this week suggests a majority of the immigrants who were arrested in Los Angeles in early June were not convicted criminals.
“In every other state, we can go into a county jail, we can screen criminals for their immigration status, and we can take them directly from jail and deport them,” Essayli said. “We can train police officers to do immigration screening so when they run into people committing criminal activities, we can focus on those people and get them deported. We can’t do any of that in the state of California. So we have to go out into the community and we have to do broad immigration enforcement operations. And when we do that, yes, absolutely. People without criminal histories are going to get swept up in those operations.”
Essayli also blasted LA Mayor Karen Bass for her recent claims that federal agents are not going after dangerous criminals and instead are chasing hard-working immigrants through swap meets and Home Depot parking lots.
“We are doing our job,” Essayli said. “We are enforcing the law as written by Congress. And if Karen Bass, who was in Congress, doesn’t like the law, she should have changed it when she was in Congress. But the Democrats had full control of the House and the Senate and the presidency, and they did nothing about it. So we’re not going to get lectured by these politicians when we are doing our job, a job that was not done for the last four years. The prior administration had an open border. They allowed millions of people to enter this country unlawfully. They’ve created the situation that we’re seeing now in the streets. So Ms. Bass and her party are responsible for what you’re seeing right now.”
Essayli was appointed in April to U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, which is the largest federal judicial district outside of Washington, D.C. The Republican was also the first Muslim elected to the California State Assembly, where he served from 2022–2025. Essayli said his priority in his new role is de-weaponizing the D.O.J.
“We’re getting back to the bread and butter of the Department of Justice,” Essayli said. “We’re going after organized crime, violent crime, transnational criminal organizations. We’re going after those who commit crimes on children, terrorism, you mention it. We’re focused on protecting the public.”
The interview also touched on homelessness funding in California, attacks on federal immigration agents and the 2026 California gubernatorial race. Inside California Politics airs this weekend during the following times:
KTLA: Sunday, June 29 at 5:30 a.m.
KRON: Saturday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m.
KSEE: Saturday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 29 at 8:30 a.m.
KSWB: Sunday, June 29 at 5:30 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.
KGET: Sunday, June 29 at 8:30 a.m.
KTXL: Saturday, June 28 at 11:00 p.m. and Sunday, June 29 at 7:30 a.m.