WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) once again calls on Governor Newsom to honor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest detainers, requests for state and local jurisdictions to turn criminal illegal aliens in their custody over to ICE.
ICE has 33,179 active detainers for criminal illegal aliens in California’s local, state, and federal prisons. Across the state of California, 4,561 criminal illegal aliens have had detainers not honored and been RELEASED from jails into California communities since January 20, 2025. The crimes of these aliens include 31 homicides, 661 assaults, 574 burglaries, 184 robberies, 1,489 dangerous drugs offenses, 379 weapons offenses, and 234 sexual predatory offenses.
When local politicians do not honor detainers, they put the safety of our officers and the public at risk.
For example, on February 2, 2026, ICE law enforcement conducted a targeted enforcement operation at the Ventura County Jail in Ventura, California to arrest a criminal illegal alien arrested by local authorities for possession of a controlled substance, possession of unlawful paraphernalia, possession of burglary tools, and trespassing.
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Jorge Lopez Santos
ICE lodged an arrest detainer to safely arrest this criminal illegal alien inside the jail. Unfortunately, Gavin Newsom and his sanctuary politicians REFUSED to honor the ICE detainer forcing our officers to make the arrest in the lobby of the jail following his release.
As law enforcement tried to transfer the illegal alien from the lobby to their custody, 15 agitators gathered outside the jail, surrounded the officers and attempted to prevent the arrest of this criminal. The agitators refused to follow law enforcement commands. During the confrontation, a female agitator physically assaulted one of our officers—a felony and federal crime. Our officers followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to arrest this criminal and protect themselves.
This was not the first detainer on this criminal illegal alien that California politicians REFUSED to honor. In March 2025, he was arrested by Oxnard Police Department for drug possession charges. They declined the detainer and released him from their jail back into California communities.
“We are calling on Governor Newsom and his administration to commit to honoring the ICE arrest detainers of the more than 33,000 criminal illegal aliens in California’s custody. It is common sense and vital for public safety,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Criminal illegal aliens should not be released from jails back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans. If we work together, we can make America safe again. 7 of the 10 safest cities in the U.S. cooperate with ICE law enforcement.”
On November 20, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers admitted Lopez Santos into the United States as a nonimmigrant nonagricultural worker (H2-B) with authorization to remain in the U.S. until August 25, 2022. Lopez Santos failed to depart the country.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s message is clear: you will not stop or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law.
The public can report doxing and harassment against ICE officers by calling 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or by?completing ICE’s online tip form.
