U.S. attorney launches program to counter California's 'sanctuary' law

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced the launch of a new immigration program in the Central District of California aimed at circumventing the state's sanctuary law that prohibits police from assisting federal immigration enforcement.

"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. 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," Essayli said in a statement.

According to a press release on Monday, the program, Operation Guardian Angel, was launched on May 10. It allows Essayli's office to scan criminal databases daily to identify arrested illegal immigrants in state jails and charge them with re-entry felonies.

"As soon as an illegal immigrant is booked into a county jail, we're reviewing their file. And if they meet the elements of illegal reentry, which is a federal crime, we are filing a complaint and getting an arrest warrant issued before they're released from state custody," Essayli told Fox News in an interview on Monday.

As of May 15, according to the press release, Operation Guardian Angel has put 13 defendants into federal custody with many more arrests expected in the near future.

California and many of its cities and counties adamantly defend SB 54, known as the California Values Act, which bars law enforcement and city officials from helping the Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest and deport people who are in the country illegally.

Others - including the federal government in 2018 - challenged the constitutionality of the act. However, in 2019, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed an Eastern District judge's ruling that SB 54 did not violate the Supremacy Clause because it was not in direct conflict with laws requiring information sharing with immigration enforcement. U.S. v. State of California, 2:18-cv-00490 (E.D. Cal., filed March 6, 2018).

One of the cases that inspired Operation Guardian Angel, according to the press release, involves an illegal immigrant from Mexico who shot and killed a man in Inglewood over a catalytic converter in February. Following his arrest, law enforcement discovered the alleged murderer was previously deported in 2013 but returned to American soil illegally. He had been arrested 11 times between 2022 and 2024. U.S. v. Saravia-Sanchez, 2:25-mj-01439 (C.D. Cal., filed March 13, 2025).

Earlier this year In Santa Ana federal court, the city of Huntington Beach, led by city attorney Michael J. Vigliotta, filed a lawsuit that claimed the state's sanctuary law forces city officials and law enforcement to compel speech and violate federal laws. The case is still in its pleading stages. City of Huntington Beach et al. v. State of California et al., 8:25-cv-00026 (C.D. Cal., filed Jan. 7, 2025).