Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehend an undocumented migrant they were surveilling in Herndon, Va., Jan. 15, 2025.
Los Angeles, California – A newly launched federal initiative targeting immigrants in California jails has drawn sharp criticism from advocates and renewed concerns over the human impact of immigration enforcement in so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the newly appointed top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and a Trump administration ally, announced “Operation Guardian Angel” this week — a pilot program to charge immigrants with federal crimes for reentering the U.S. after deportation. The move appears designed to circumvent California’s sanctuary laws by shifting enforcement from local law enforcement to federal prosecutors and agents operating inside jails and prisons.
“This is about neutralizing sanctuary policies,” Essayli said on X, formerly Twitter, touting the effort as a key plank in the Trump administration’s push to ramp up immigration arrests. In a statement, he added: “The days of giving criminal illegal aliens a free pass are over.”
The approach revives tactics from previous administrations, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who both used criminal prosecutions for illegal reentry as part of broader enforcement. But under this new initiative, critics say the program could criminalize more immigrants — many of whom may be long-settled community members with families — without regard to context or rehabilitation.
Despite Essayli’s claims, state officials insist California continues cooperating with federal authorities in meaningful and legally consistent ways. California Attorney General Rob Bonta pushed back on what he called scapegoating: “Immigration enforcement is and always has been the federal government’s job. The Trump administration may seek to blame California as it grows desperate to deliver on its misguided, inhumane mass deportation agenda.”
Federal prosecutors in California’s Central District charged just 17 people with illegal reentry in 2023 and 2024. Under the new program, however, they have charged 347 individuals since January—a dramatic escalation. Yet the first five days of “Operation Guardian Angel” saw just 13 arrests, slower than previous weeks, raising questions about the program’s long-term viability.
“This may quickly become a question of capacity,” said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. “You can’t just ramp this up infinitely without consequences for the court system or jail resources.”
Experts also warn of the flawed logic underpinning such efforts. “The foundational assumption is widespread immigrant criminality,” said UC Irvine criminologist Charis Kubrin. “But immigrants do not commit crime at higher rates than the native-born. In fact, immigration is not associated with increased crime at all.”
California’s sanctuary laws still allow certain types of cooperation — including the transfer of state prison inmates with qualifying convictions to federal custody — but they aim to protect due process and reduce the chilling effect on immigrant communities.
While the Trump administration insists its efforts are about public safety, critics say the real cost may be paid by families torn apart and communities placed under heightened surveillance — all in the name of solving a problem the data suggests doesn’t exist.
