DOJ Requests Data On Criminal Illegal Aliens In California Jails
The request targets counties that have historically limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The data collection effort represents the latest escalation in the administration's immigration crackdown.
'Removing criminal illegal aliens is this Administration's highest priority,' Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a July 17 filed statements supporting Huntington Beach's lawsuit against state sanctuary laws and challenged a Kentucky regulation offering in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.
California has long resisted federal immigration enforcement efforts. State law limits local law enforcement cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, particularly regarding detention requests.
The DOJ announcement emphasized that while all undocumented immigrants violate federal law, those who commit additional crimes 'pose a heightened risk to our Nation's safety and security.' The statement described recent border crossings as an 'invasion of illegal aliens at an unprecedented scale.'
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
3 minutes ago
- The Hill
Maxwell attorney said she answered hours of questions from DOJ's Blanche
An attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell said she had a 'very productive' meeting on Thursday with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who flew to Tallahassee, Fla to meet with her amid pressure to release more information from the Epstein files. Blanche took the unusual step of questioning Maxwell, a close associate of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein. Such a task is typically left to career attorneys at the Justice Department. 'He took a full day and asked a lot of questions, and Ms. Maxwell answered every single question,' David Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse where the meeting took place, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. 'She never stopped. She never invoked her privilege. She never declined to answer. She answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability,' the outlet reported. The Justice Department did not immediately comment on the meeting. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in connection with Epstein in 2021 and is serving a 20 year sentence. She is currently appealing her conviction to the Supreme Court. Epstein later killed himself while in prison awaiting trial on related charges. The Trump administration is under tremendous pressure to release more information about the Epstein case. A firestorm erupted after the department released a memo stating the financier killed himself and did not keep a client list. Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously said such files were on her desk, but she later demurred about releasing additional information about the case, saying it amounted to pornographic images and would be damaging to Epstein's victims. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi told President Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in files related to Epstein. Bondi also told Trump that many other high-profile individuals were named in the files — which alone is not a sign of wrongdoing. One official familiar with the documents told the Journal the files contain hundreds of names. Blanche earlier this week offered support by the earlier statement in July from the DOJ and FBI. 'The joint statement by the DOJ and FBI of July 6 remains as accurate today as it was when it was written. Namely, that in the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,' Blanche said in a Tuesday statement. 'President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.'
Axios
3 minutes ago
- Axios
Noncriminal ICE arrests surge in Washington, Oregon and Alaska
More than half of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests last month in Washington, Oregon and Alaska involved people with no criminal charges or convictions — a sharp increase from recent norms, newly obtained data shows. Why it matters: The numbers illustrate a major shift that came soon after the Trump administration tripled ICE's arrest quota. Zoom in: In June, people without criminal charges or convictions made up an average of 53% of daily ICE arrests in the area covered by the agency's Seattle field office (Oregon, Washington and Alaska). That's up from 28% in April, before the quota increase. The average number of daily arrests for those with charges or convictions also increased in June, but not to the same degree. How it works: The data was obtained by the UC Berkeley School of Law's Deportation Data Project via Freedom of Information Act requests, and is based on seven-day trailing averages. Zoom out: As of June 26 — the most recent data available — ICE was reporting a nationwide average of 930 arrests per day, about 42% of which involved people without charges or convictions. The big picture: The spike in non-criminal ICE arrests came despite the Trump administration's claimed focus on criminals living in the country illegally. And it happened just after the Trump administration told ICE to arrest at least 3,000 people daily, up from 1,000. Context: Being in the U.S. illegally, such as by overstaying a visa, is a civil, not criminal, violation. What they're saying: Malou Chávez, executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, told Axios the only way for ICE to meet its new quota is to arrest people who have no criminal backgrounds. That's "creating so much fear" locally — even among immigrants who aren't undocumented, she said. "The reality is they are going after anyone who they see as a potential person they can place in deportation proceedings," Chávez said. The other side: Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin disputed reports that ICE isn't targeting criminal immigrants, telling Axios by email that some people labeled "non-criminals" are "actually terrorists, human rights abusers or gang members — they just lack a U.S. criminal record."
The Hill
3 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow NIH to cancel health grants
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to continue moving forward with canceling National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants over their connections to diversity initiatives. The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the court for an emergency stay that would stop Boston-based U.S. District Judge William Young's ruling last month, which halted the cancellation and forced the government to reinstate several of the grants. The case centered on a legal challenge by researchers, unions and a coalition of 16 Democratic-led states. They sued the administration after the NIH terminated grants supporting research on topics like health equity, racial disparities, vaccine hesitancy and maternal health in minority communities. The abrupt cancellations were part of the administration's quest to slash spending and end federal support for initiatives Trump officials considered to be promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). 'The district court's order directs the NIH to continue paying $783 million in federal grants that are undisputedly counter to the Administration's priorities,' DOJ wrote in the filing. 'Following the change in Administration, the NIH identified, explained, and pursued new funding priorities. That is democracy at work, not, as the district court thought, proof of inappropriate 'partisan[ship]'—let alone a permissible basis for setting agency action aside,' the filing stated. The Trump administration has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court to step in when its policies have been blocked by lower courts. Thursday's filing was the administration's 21st emergency application since taking office, and the White House has found success in nearly every single instance.
