A daring operation by ICE and federal authorities in California succeeded in taking dangerous illegal aliens off the street. They accomplished all this in spite of California’s far-left politicians, who passed laws trying to prevent exactly that. Operation Guardian Angel rounded up a total of 362 criminal illegal aliens, including rapists, child molesters, and murderers.
The “stealth mission” bypassed California’s infamously pro-crime sanctuary policies, using federal laws to secure the targets and deport them. The California Values Act prohibits local police and law enforcement from working with federal immigration agents, even if they wish to do so.
Operation Guardian Angel rendered these contemptuous policies ineffective.
Authorities used federal warrants to forcibly transfer custody of illegals into the hands of ICE agents. When illegals in California are charged at the local level, the state works to quickly release them back into the public, often to see them back in custody on new charges. This revolving door justice system keeps the criminals above the law and violence on the rise.
The genius of Guardian Angel is that the ICE and federal prosecutors were able to preempt the leftist support system protecting criminal illegals. Agents identified illegal aliens being held in county jails and acquired federal warrants before the criminal illegals could be released.
With a federal warrant, ICE officers could then travel to the jails and seize the illegal aliens. County jails are legally required to hand over prisoners when faced with federal warrants. Once in ICE custody, the illegal aliens were beyond the reach of Soros prosecutors and sanctuary city politicians. The operation began back in 2025, tallying up 769 federal arrest warrants and 362 transferred defendants so far, and if the strategy is continued, those numbers will only increase.
Many of the illegal aliens seized in the operation had been previously deported, and a large number had long lists of prior crimes. Jamie Rodriguez Ladesma, a previously deported illegal from Mexico, was convicted of lewd acts with a child under 14. Hector Bueno-Moreno, another previously deported illegal from Mexico, was convicted of rape back in 1995. Those are the type of thugs California Democrats want out on the street terrorizing the American people.
When left-wing extremists take over state governments and use them to aid criminals, it is up to federal authorities to intervene. By taking dangerous illegal aliens off the streets, ICE is saving countless Americans from harm. Texans for Strong Borders applauds the innovations ICE and the federal government are using to enforce immigration law. America cannot become a haven for murderers and rapists.