NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 6: An ICE agent monitors hundreds of asylum seekers being processed upon entering the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023 in New York City. New York City has provided sanctuary to over 46,000 asylum seekers since 2013, when the city passed a law prohibiting city agencies from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement agencies unless there is a warrant for the person's arrest.(Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Los Angeles, California – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced the launch of Operation Guardian Angel, a new initiative aimed at circumventing California’s sanctuary state policies by issuing federal arrest warrants for undocumented immigrants with criminal records incarcerated in county jails.
The operation, which began on May 10, had already arrested 13 individuals by May 15. The Central District encompasses Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties—a region estimated to house 1.5 million undocumented immigrants. Federal officials say the initiative directly responds to state laws restricting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli emphasized the need for more vigorous federal 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,” Essayli said. “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.”
Under current California law, local law enforcement agencies are generally prohibited from honoring immigration detainers—civil requests issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asking jails or prisons to hold undocumented immigrants up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release. The government designed these detainers to give federal immigration officers time to assume custody of individuals facing removal.
Federal prosecutors cited the February 2025 case of José Cristian Saravia-Sánchez as a stark example of the risks they believe are posed by sanctuary policies. Saravia-Sánchez, a 30-year-old Mexican national previously deported in 2013, had a criminal history including vehicle theft and 11 arrests between 2022 and 2024. Despite an ICE detainer, local authorities were legally barred from cooperating. Saravia-Sánchez later fatally shot a man in Inglewood who tried to stop him from stealing a catalytic converter.
Officials said the goal of Operation Guardian Angel is to work around those barriers by pursuing criminal complaints and arrest warrants that enable federal officers to take custody of individuals directly from county jails, regardless of state policy. Officials said more arrests are expected in the coming weeks as the initiative expands.
“Operation Guardian Angel is a necessary step to ensure that the most dangerous offenders are not simply released back into our communities,” said Essayli. “Public safety must come before politics.”
