The Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested data on non-citizen inmates from major California county jails, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, looking for information on their crimes and release dates.
The request targets counties that have historically limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The data collection effort represents the latest escalation in the administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Removing criminal illegal aliens is this Administration’s highest priority,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a July 17 filed statements supporting Huntington Beach’s lawsuit against state sanctuary laws and challenged a Kentucky regulation offering in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.
California has long resisted federal immigration enforcement efforts. State law limits local law enforcement cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, particularly regarding detention requests.
The DOJ announcement emphasized that while all undocumented immigrants violate federal law, those who commit additional crimes “pose a heightened risk to our Nation’s safety and security.” The statement described recent border crossings as an “invasion of illegal aliens at an unprecedented scale.”