The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday asked California counties to provide a list of all prisoners in prisons who are not American citizens, as well as a crime they have been charged or convicted and a scheduled release date.
The Justice Department said in a statement that “data requests” from counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, are “designed to support federal immigration officials in favor of removing illegal aliens who commit crimes after illegally entering the United States.”
The demand adds another layer to the Trump administration’s already intense turf war with California over immigration policy and state and local sanctuary laws. US immigration and customs enforcement agents flock to areas that have made thousands of arrests as part of President Trump’s massive call for deportation, and the Justice Department has already sued the city of Los Angeles for sanctuary policy.
State officials have long defended California sanctuary policies. This generally provides an exception when local governments prohibit enforcement of civil immigration laws, but includes criminal offences. They also criticized the administration and ice agents for their recent arrest tactics in Southern California, including citing figures indicating that the majority of those arrested have no criminal convictions.
It was not immediately clear whether the demand would have an immediate impact, and whether they would pose legal challenges from the state or county. Atty, California. General Rob Bonta’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recently resumed moving prison inmates to ice for the first time over the years, citing criminal exceptions from state and local sanctuary laws.
A LA County spokesman introduced questions regarding the request to the Sheriff’s Department.
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna was asked about the request during a private monitoring board meeting Thursday morning, saying information on all county inmates has already been made public on the department’s website.
“The moment you’re booked, processed, and you’re given life-canceled, it’s the national system, so federal agents will know you’re in custody,” he said. “So we’re not notifying them, it’s an automatic notification based on fingerprints.”
The Justice Department said it hopes the county voluntarily complies with its requests. However, if not, he said he would “pursuit all available means of obtaining data, including subpoena and other enforcement processes.”
“By definition, all illegal aliens violate federal law, but those who continue to commit crimes after doing so show that they pose a high degree of risk to the safety and security of our country.”
Considering the presence of non-citizen permanent residents and other visa holders, not all non-citizens in the United States are illegally in the country. But as part of the immigration crackdown, the Trump administration has also stepped up scrutiny among those in these categories.
Atty. In her own statement on the request, General Pam Bondy said that eliminating “illegal criminal aliens” from the country was the administration’s “highest priority.”
“We look forward to working with the California county sheriff to fulfill our common obligation to keep Californians and all Americans safe and secure,” Bondy said.
In May, Luna’s department moved prisoners from prison to ice for the first time since early 2020. Between May and June, the department handed over 20 prisoners to federal agencies.
At Thursday’s oversight meeting, Luna said she received a request from ICE for 995 civil detainees in 2024, saying that she has not complied with any of them, but is not legally necessary. However, he said that 20 prisoners must be handed over as each received a federal judicial warrant from federal authorities.
He said he expected such warrants to increase, which would increase the number of prisoners.
“These are legal documents signed by a judge. We cannot deny them,” he said.
County inspector Max Huntsman and other experts say the sheriff’s department requires federal and state law to comply with warrants, and the process is legal under state and local sanctuary policies.
Times staff writers Rebecca Ellis and Rachel Ulanga contributed to this report.
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