Undocumented Immigrants In CA Jails Targeted By Bondi Appointee

CALIFORNIA ? A federal crackdown is underway targeting undocumented immigrants held in Southern California county jails.

On Monday, U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli, Central District of California, formally launched "Operation Guardian Angel," which promises to issue federal arrest warrants and take undocumented jail inmates into federal custody.

State and local law enforcement are generally restricted from assisting with federal immigration enforcement under the California Values Act (SB 54), but Essayli says Operation Guardian Angel will "neutralize" these "sanctuary state" policies.

In an email, Ciaran McEvoy, spokesperson for Essayli's office, said the program will target certain jailed inmates: people "whom we believe violated the following federal statute: 8 USC 1326 ? illegal re-entry. If you?ve been deported (or removed) from the United States, it is a felony to come back to the USA without the permission of the Attorney General or Homeland Security Secretary. The people targeted for federal arrest warrants in county jails are believed to have been deported, came back to the USA without permission, then got arrested locally."

Operation Guardian Angel currently threatens jailed non-U.S. citizens in Essayli's Central District, which includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. It's unclear whether other U.S. attorneys in California will adopt the program.

Operation Guardian Angel was quietly rolled out on May 10 and, as of May 15, had resulted in 13 arrests. Those numbers are expected to grow, according to Essayli's office.

"The days of giving criminal illegal aliens a free pass are over. ... [California] cannot ignore federal arrest warrants," said Essayli, who was appointed to his current position last month by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Even if accused of felony unlawful reentry, the U.S. Constitution provides that no "person" shall be deprived of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

McEvoy said those taken into federal custody will "be prosecuted in federal court, where they will have due process rights. Assuming they?re convicted, they?ll serve time in federal prison then be removed (deported) from the USA."

McEvoy did not confirm that deportees will be sent to their countries of origin.

Courts are wrestling with the Trump administration's assertion that non-U.S. citizens do not have all rights under the U.S. Constitution.

The Supreme Court on Friday dealt a blow against the administration's attempt to send Venezuelans held in Texas to a notorious prison in El Salvador. In a 7-2 unsigned decision, the court said the detainees must have a proper chance to raise legal objections.

In the decision, the Trump administration was chided for giving detainees only 24 hours to launch legal challenges.

"Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster," the ruling said.

The court sent the case back to an appeals court for further proceedings to determine what due process the detainees should receive.

Essayli's office did not clarify how jailed inmates who allegedly reentered the country illegally would be identified. In California, county jails are typically operated by the county sheriff's office.

In January, CalMatters published the results of a survey it conducted. The news outlet asked every county sheriff in California about how they were planning to navigate the complexities in local, state, and federal immigration laws. About half of the state's 58 sheriffs responded, and most said they would follow state law. Sheriffs in Amador and Riverside counties, however, said they would cooperate with ICE, and seven other sheriffs said that current state law does allow leeway in working with ICE.

People in California with Temporary Protected Status may not be shielded from Operation Guardian Angel. On Monday, the Supreme Court let the Trump administration, for now, remove Temporary Protected Status for nearly 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants who had been allowed to remain in the United States without risk of deportation.