The Trump administration has introduced a legal strategy that effectively circumvents sanctuary city policies, which typically prevent local police from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. Sanctuary jurisdictions often refuse to honor ICE detainers—requests to hold undocumented migrants for federal pickup—but they cannot ignore federal felony warrants. According to journalist Marc Thiessen, the administration has begun charging migrants who reenter the U.S. illegally after deportation with felony illegal reentry, a federal offense that local authorities must act on. This maneuver, part of “Operation Guardian Angel,” has enabled ICE to gain custody of hundreds of undocumented individuals despite sanctuary city resistance. Thiessen argued on Fox News that this tactic has stirred strong reactions from the left, who accuse the administration of undermining local authority and immigrant protections.
Meanwhile, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is investigating whether organizations like CHIRLA are financially supporting protests and civil unrest in California. Hawley contends that such funding constitutes aiding criminal conduct, not protected free speech. President Trump has also deployed thousands of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles in response to the unrest. He credited the federal response with preventing further destruction, linking the violence to failures in Democratic leadership. However, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized the deployment, asserting that local authorities were capable of maintaining order without federal interference. The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between federal immigration policy and local governance.
