President Donald Trump’s decisive victory in November appears to have caused a seismic shift in California’s Democratic leaders’ sanctuary rhetoric, clearing a path for conservative local politicians to ramp up their fight against the illegal immigration crisis.
As Americans rally behind Trump’s immigration crackdown, Californians are becoming increasingly outraged by the state’s existing crime surge, further worsened by sanctuary laws.
Trump and others continue to battle against those targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but Democrats like Gov. Gavin Newsom — despite his recent attempts to reinvent himself as a moderate — keep thwarting those attempts with pro-sanctuary policies.
First-of-its-kind task force
Several local leaders have seized the opportunity to right the course and address the state’s illegal immigration chaos.
United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced Monday the formation of a new task force dedicated to eradicating the state’s destructive sanctuary laws.
‘The days of giving criminal illegal aliens a free pass are over.’
Operation Guardian Angel, a program launched May 10 alongside federal partners, aims to “neutralize California’s sanctuary state policy and protect Americans from criminal illegal aliens incarcerated in county jails by issuing federal arrest warrants for them,” according to a Department of Justice press release.
The task force comprises assets from multiple federal agencies, including ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Border Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
RELATED: Sheriff vows to break California’s sanctuary law by alerting ICE about violent illegal aliens
California Governor Gavin Newsom. Photo by ARIANA DREHSLER/AFP via Getty Images
The press release noted that Essayli’s district is home to approximately 1.5 million illegal aliens, including gang members and violent felons.
As of May 15, the program has already resulted in the arrest of 13 individuals by filing complaints and arrest warrants, allowing federal authorities to seize custody of defendants in state jails. The task force scans criminal databases every day to identify illegal aliens currently detained. An arrest warrant is then issued for those who can be transferred to DOJ custody for illegal re-entry before they are released from local jails.
Essayli slammed California’s sanctuary laws for releasing “even the worst criminal aliens” back onto the street.
“These laws effectively render federal immigration detainers meaningless,” he stated. “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 to Fox News that the state’s sanctuary laws “made it almost impossible for ICE to do their job, issue detainers, and get criminal illegal immigrants out of jails.”
He declared, “We’re going to flood the system with warrants for criminal illegal immigration that are in county jails, they can ignore a detainer, but they cannot ignore a criminal arrest warrant.”
Essayli referred to California as the “testing ground” for the groundbreaking new program that could be implemented in other sanctuary jurisdictions.
He noted that he does not expect resistance from local authorities.
“They have no choice, they will comply. And if they don’t comply, if they interfere in our ability to arrest a federal felon, they can expect to face consequences for that,” Essayli added to Fox.
Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, told Blaze News that federal judges’ criminal arrest warrants “cannot be ignored” and “are exempt from the sanctuary policies.”
While Vaughan stated that she has not seen any indication that local politicians are shifting their stance on sanctuary policies, she highlighted efforts to arrest illegal aliens who were previously deported.
“ICE has taken steps to make it easier for California law enforcement agencies, most of whom have always supported cooperation with ICE, to transfer custody of certain illegal aliens who have been arrested that ICE is seeking to remove,” she explained. “I’m sure most of the sheriffs and police chiefs will be fine with this arrangement.”
When reached for comment, Essayli’s office referred Blaze News to the previous statement in the press release and those provided to Fox News.
Local law enforcement digs in
Some of California’s local law enforcement leaders have also led the charge against the sanctuary policies.
San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez came under fire late last year when she stated that her office would not comply with the San Diego County Board’s decision to pass its own sanctuary measure, in addition to the state’s existing policies.
Martinez’s office previously told Blaze News that it would not be “expanding or changing anything we have been doing.”
“We will continue to follow state law and maintain the way we have been operating for several years. The Board Action sought to impose restrictions well beyond those already provided for in-state law regarding how local law enforcement can work with immigration officials,” the sheriff’s office said.
However, Martinez’s office stopped short of rejecting all sanctuary policies, instead stating that the “current state law strikes the right balance between limiting local law enforcement’s cooperation with immigration authorities, ensuring public safety, and building community trust.”
While Martinez’s office has stood behind California’s sanctuary laws, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, has come out in full force against the state, becoming the first and only sheriff to join Huntington Beach’s lawsuit against California, Newsom, and Attorney General Robert Bonta.
In January, the city council members declared Huntington Beach a “non-sanctuary city,” then later filed a lawsuit claiming the state’s laws “drastically limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement authorities, shield illegal aliens, and threaten public safety.”
Bianco told the Desert Sun, “Local law enforcement has not and does not enforce immigration law.”
He argued that California’s sanctuary policy “was only designed to protect criminals in jail from being deported.”
RELATED: The Trump effect? Newsom pledges to veto Dem bill that would expand protections for illegal aliens
Sheriff Chad Bianco of Riverside County. Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Vaughan told Blaze News that California sheriffs resisting local politicians’ efforts to impose stricter sanctuary laws “should feel a bit safer doing this knowing that the Trump administration will support them.”
‘This is a battle that needs to be fought, both for supremacy of the federal government on immigration enforcement and for the sake of public safety.’
In response to the lawsuit, Bonta’s office previously told Fox News Digital, “The Attorney General is committed to protecting and ensuring the rights of California’s immigrant communities and upholding vital laws like SB 54, which ensure that state and local resources go toward fighting crime in California communities, not toward federal immigration enforcement.”
“Our office successfully fought back against a challenge to SB 54 by the first Trump administration, and we are prepared to vigorously defend SB 54 again,” the statement added.
Bianco’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
Recalls and electoral shifts
California locals’ frustration with Democratic policies appeared to reach a tipping point late last year when several recall efforts successfully booted radical leftists.
In Alameda County, an area so devastated by crime that numerous businesses fled, voters removed two George Soros-backed politicians: then-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao (D) and then-Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price (D).
A similar situation played out in Los Angeles County.
After weathering failed recall efforts, former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón suffered a blistering loss in his November re-election bid.
The progressive DA was replaced by Nathan Hochman, an Independent candidate who ran on the promise to restore safety and prioritize “protecting victims’ interests.”
Hochman, a former Republican, shared a post on social media on May 18 stating that “the fun is over” for illegal alien criminals.
“I am standing at the border between LA County and San Bernardino County where criminals used to enjoy crossing in the LA direction, thinking that little to no consequences would occur if they stole, robbed, and engaged in criminal conduct,” he wrote.
“Times have changed!” Hochman declared. “A new DA was elected. And criminals in LA County will now be prosecuted and held fully accountable for their illegal actions.”
Hochman’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
What’s next?
While it remains uncertain whether the quieted pro-sanctuary rhetoric during Trump’s second term, coupled with mounting frustrations over surging crime, will ultimately eradicate sanctuary policies, it offers California’s dissenting local leaders with a rare opportunity they will either seize or risk losing through inaction.
“The real test will be when the Trump administration begins imposing penalties on California, such as denying certain funding, and possibly takes legal action to challenge some of the more egregious local policies,” Vaughan stated.
“This is a battle that needs to be fought, both for supremacy of the federal government on immigration enforcement and for the sake of public safety,” she remarked.
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