The department said those who commit crimes after entering the country unlawfully ’show that they pose a heightened risk to our nation’s safety and security.’
The Department of Justice on July 17 requested data on incarcerated illegal immigrants from sheriffs in multiple major California counties, including reasons for arrests or convictions and scheduled release dates.
The Justice Department said in a news release that it was requesting the information to help federal immigration authorities in fast-tracking the deportation of illegal immigrants who committed crimes after entering the United States.
The sheriff’s departments affected include Los Angeles and San Francisco counties.
“Removing criminal illegal aliens is this administration’s highest priority,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.
“I look forward to cooperating with California’s county sheriffs to accomplish our shared duty of keeping Californians and all Americans safe and secure.”
The release notes that while every illegal immigrant “by definition violates federal law,” those who go on to commit crimes after entering the country unlawfully “show that they pose a heightened risk to our nation’s safety and security.”
The Justice Department said it hopes the California sheriffs will voluntarily produce the requested information, which includes the inmates’ crimes of arrest or conviction, and their scheduled release dates.
“But if necessary, the department will pursue all available means of obtaining the data, including through subpoenas or other compulsory process,” the agency added.
The California attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is the largest sheriff’s agency in the country, also did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
The Justice Department’s move on Thursday adds to the Trump administration’s existing battles with California over immigration enforcement and its state and local sanctuary laws.
The nation’s top law enforcement agency is currently suing Los Angeles over its sanctuary policy, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have made thousands of arrests in the area in line with President Donald Trump’s agenda of mass deportations.
By Jacob Burg
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