ICE OPERATION NETS 24 LOCAL ARRESTS

Statewide crackdown last week targeted migrants who have history of crime

A five-day immigration enforcement operation targeting migrants who have criminal histories ended with 24 arrests in San Diego County, part of a broader publicity campaign that blames “sanctuary” laws for making such arrests more labor intensive and dangerous.

The effort, called “Operation Rise,” targeted the metropolitan areas of San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2, resulting in 128 arrests total.

Of the arrests announced Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego, more than 80 percent had prior criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, including sex acts with a minor, domestic violence, drug possession, vehicle theft, burglary and DUI, authorities said. Officials

were not able to specify how many charges were felony or misdemeanor.

Most of those arrested already had final orders of removal issued by a federal immigration judge, according to ICE.

ICE officials say 12 of the San Diego arrests would likely have occurred earlier within local jails had it not been for California laws that limit state and local cooperation with immigration enforcement.

A 2013 state law prohibits jailers from holding on to non-citizen inmates past the date of their authorized release, including those who post bail pending criminal further proceedings. Under the law, the federal “detainers” that immigration officers submit asking for a temporary hold so a transfer of custody can be coordinated are considered merely administrative and therefore not valid.

The California Values Act, which passed in 2017, broadly restricts coordination with ICE. A specific part of the law prohibits jailers from noti