Top immigration enforcement officials from the Trump administration are urging California Governor Gavin Newsom not to release over 33,000 undocumented immigrants, including some convicted of serious crimes, back into local communities without informing federal authorities. In a letter, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons are advocating for the protection of these detainees, emphasizing the seriousness of their criminal records.
Lyons remarked that Newsom and other Californian leaders are placing communities at risk by letting out individuals with violent pasts. He stated, “It’s common sense: illegal aliens who have committed crimes should not be released from prison and returned to the streets to terrorize more innocent Americans.” He also mentioned alarming statistics, including a total of 399 murders and thousands of assaults and robberies linked to the individuals in question.
Newsom’s office responded by stating that California does collaborate with ICE to remove serious offenders like rapists and murderers from prisons. Since Newsom became governor in 2019, the state corrections department has transferred over 12,000 inmates, including violent offenders, to ICE custody.
State law currently permits the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to notify ICE about felony convicts who have served their sentences. However, Newsom has consistently criticized ICE amidst ongoing immigration enforcement efforts and supports the state’s sanctuary law that restricts collaboration between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies for undocumented immigrants not involved in severe crimes.
