Operation Guardian Angel uses federal arrest warrants rather than ice detainees to force federal authorities to detain county prisoners.
As it could be a game-changer in the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, the California Central District and federal partners of US lawyers have launched a program that “neutralizes California’s sanctuary state policy.”
One of President Donald Trump’s main campaign promises was the massive deportation of millions of people who came to the country illegally during the Biden administration.
If a deported person illegally re-enters the country, it is a felony under Title 8 law, said Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for the U.S. Law Office in Los Angeles.
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“Even if they want to turn them over, they can’t,” McEvoy told the Epoch Times.
Operation Guardian Angel avoids the law through a federal arrest warrant. This said McEvoy would not leave the county.
The essay said in a press release that “the worst criminal foreigners in state custody are frequently released to the community,” as California’s sanctuary policies block cooperation with federal law enforcement.
“These laws effectively render federal immigrant detainees pointless. The days of giving criminals free passes to illegal aliens are over,” he said. “Currently, California may be ignoring detainees, but we cannot ignore federal arrest warrants.”
The program, which began on May 10, saw 13 defendants arrests in California as of May 15. Operation Guardian Angel Task Force consists of Ice, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Homeland Security Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Federal District of California is home to Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. An estimated 1.5 million illegal immigrants reside in districts that include gang members, adding that protections for illegal California criminal aliens will reduce the safety of residents, according to a press release.
The release attracted the public’s attention in February 2025 when 30-year-old Jose Christian Saravia Sanchez of Mexico shot and killed an Inglewood man and shot dead an Inglewood man who tried to stop him from stealing a catalytic converter.
He was an illegal immigrant convicted of vehicle theft, removed from the United States in 2013 and arrested 11 times between June 2022 and August 2024, according to the release. However, local law enforcement agencies have been prevented by state law from complying with immigrant detainees’ requests, the release said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Epoch Times by the time of publication.
