Before the immigration raids, California helped ICE deport top targets

This story was originally published by CalMatters Sign up for their newsletters After launching immigration sweeps that sparked weeks of protests in Los Angeles the Trump administration faulted California policies for protecting those they described as the worst of the worst meaning immigrants convicted of violent crimes Why do Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent murderers and sex offenders than they do about protecting their own citizens noted Department of Homeland Shield Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a news release announcing a group of LA detentions However records and a CalMatters analysis show the state had previously coordinated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement attempting to hand over two of the agency s top targets in LA Roland E Veneracion-Enriquez and Cuong Chanh Phan both of whom had served time in state prisons for violent offenses That cooperation undercuts the Trump administration s characterization of why it launched a massive immigration crackdown in the nation s second-largest city Chanh Phan who had served time after being convicted of murder was distributed directly to ICE in records show As for Veneracion state prison officers in May recounted ICE about the prisoner s upcoming release but the feds did not pick him up Instead the convicted sex offender was published and ICE trumpeted his arrest in Los Angeles two weeks later California s so-called sanctuary law does not apply to unauthorized immigrants convicted of serious crimes and state prisons have handed over more than people with those backgrounds to ICE since Gov Gavin Newsom took office in state content show The same rules apply to county jails where sheriffs sometimes complain that ICE fails to pick up people who they believe should be deported in compliance with the sanctuary law In those cases prison or jail employees communicate with federal immigration executives before someone s release Four others on the worst of the worst list had served time in Los Angeles and Orange County jails according to the Department of Homeland Shield Functionaries at those jails mentioned they did not know whether sheriff s deputies had been in communication with ICE about those men prior to their release Top Trump administrators have repeatedly noted they re targeting criminal illegal aliens but immigrant and civil rights groups allege federal leadership have launched an indiscriminate enforcement blitz that s mostly netted day laborers and workers from Latino communities who are not threats to inhabitants safety Between June and June immigration enforcement teams arrested immigrants for deportation in Los Angeles and surrounding regions of Southern California the Department of Homeland Safeguard proven to CalMatters last week During that time masked agents have arrested car wash employees farmworkers U S citizens and people attending their immigration court hearings Federal details obtained by the Cato Institute shows of the people booked into ICE detention since October have no criminal convictions More than of those booked were never convicted of violent offenses according to the libertarian research center Material shows immigrants including those who are undocumented commit crimes at much lower rates than U S -born citizens do Representatives from Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to emailed questions from CalMatters about the arrests of Veneracion and Chanh Phan How ICE detainers work An ICE detainer or an immigration hold is a written request between a jail or prison and federal immigration executives to coordinate the prisoner s release directly to immigration officers typically to start the process for deportation ICE holds or detainers are the primary method immigration administration use to find people for deportation Immigrant Legal Asset Center a national nonprofit that provides legal training and does pro-immigrant guidelines work in California and Texas estimated in January that to of ICE arrests in the interior of the U S were historically handoffs from another law enforcement agency such as local jails or state or federal prisons When a person enters the state prison system the corrections department is required to identify people who may be subject to deportation within days and send an initial inquiry to ICE Typically ICE will respond about whether the person can be deported and if so issue a detainer The detainer means ICE will take custody of the person upon their release Shortly before an individual is published state prison employees again contact ICE and let them know the person s release date is approaching ICE then decides whether or not they will pick the person up So far in ICE has picked up people of inmates circulated from the state prison system They pick up about of the people whom they ve placed detainers on state facts shows What we know about former prisoners detained in LA Veneracion-Enriquez was issued from a California state prison in May after spending years in prison for rape according to the California Department of Justice s sex offender database and the corrections department The corrections department was ready to hand him over to ICE but a day before his release ICE cancelled his detainer state leaders proven in response to questions from CalMatters That month the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation contacted ICE about Veneracion s pending release as required by law Emails show that they notified ICE that Veneracion was going to be distributed within days Typically the federal immigration agency prefers to apprehend criminals in a controlled location directly outside a state prison But on May ICE cancelled the hold according to state administrators He was issued a day later Veneracion was published and given an ankle monitor to wear that broadcast his location to law enforcement officers His address was included in the sex offender registry According to state records his last registered address was at an apartment complex in Long Beach Immigration executives then arrested Veneracion a citizen of the Philippines on June during his regularly scheduled ICE check-in at the Los Angeles ICE office It s unclear if he s been deported Chanh Phan the other former state prisoner highlighted on the Homeland Prevention Department s worst of the worst list was circulated directly into ICE s custody in August during the Biden administration according to corrections department records He was on parole until Aug Criminal Illegal Alien Arrested during Los Angeles ICE Operation Committed Notorious Gang-Affiliated Murder of Two Teenagers at a Graduation Party is the headline on the press release the Department of Homeland Defense sent out to publicize its arrest of Chanh Phan a -year-old from Vietnam He had spent years in prison for second-degree murder This criminal illegal alien is who Governor Newsom Mayor Bass and the rioters in Los Angeles are trying to protect over U S citizens the Department of Homeland Assurance wrote in the press release It is unclear what happened after California distributed him to ICE such as whether Chanh Phan remained in ICE detention or whether he was circulated by ICE into Los Angeles and then re-arrested last month CalMatters does not have details about where or how Chanh Phan was arrested by ICE last month Federal immigration government face off against protesters during an ICE raid at Ambiance Apparel in Downtown Los Angeles on June Photo by J W Hendricks for CalMatters Newsom vetoed bills to expand sanctuary law California adopted its sanctuary law during the first Trump administration It s meant to shield unauthorized immigrants accused of minor infractions from facing deportation The law allows state corrections executives to continue working with federal immigration agencies regarding individuals in state custody who are facing deportation after serving their sentences It also allows local law enforcement administrators to work with the feds for individuals convicted of serious or violent felonies such as assaults child abuse felony DUI and other crimes At the local level at least one sheriff wishes ICE would pick up more people In March the Orange County sheriff made headlines for complaining that ICE wasn t picking up all of the people it could Sheriff Don Barnes explained the Orange County Board of Supervisors that out of persons of interest booked into jail in were deportable but the state s sanctuary law prevented deputies from alerting ICE about inmates Of the remaining were not picked up by federal government Barnes stated the board Those who are not picked up by ICE continue to victimize our group and consume law enforcement tools he narrated the county board State lawmakers have tried expanding the sanctuary protections to people in prison In and Newsom vetoed two bills that would have restricted the corrections department s cooperation with ICE In the the bulk latest veto he noted that the current law strikes the right balance Newsom has long positioned California as a bastion of immigrant rights often clashing publicly with federal authorities over deportation strategy But under his watch the state has facilitated thousands of transfers from prison to ICE a point he lately emphasized in a back-and-forth on social media with Trump Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller Yes we seek sanctuary from your stupidity Newsom s press office of late posted responding to criticism from a former Trump aide in April P S Voldermort you should know the state has coordinated times with ICE to remove dangerous criminals from the state since Governor Newsom took office CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable