An ongoing federal operation in California is shielding the innocent and punishing the most dangerous illegal alien criminals despite sanctuary policies. Like heavenly angels, it is both avenging and protective.
A significant part of California is still Republican, but urban Democrats have spent years ruining the state. A federal official who is zealously trying to combat the crisis, however, is Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
On Wednesday, Essayli made several posts on X, proclaiming the success of Operation Guardian Angel in transferring dangerous illegal aliens already in custody to ICE.
California Democrats under Gov. Gavin Newsom regularly refuse to hand illegal alien criminals over to federal custody, sometimes even releasing or pardoning criminals in order to undermine ICE. Operation Guardian Angel works to counteract this dangerous and unacceptable behavior.
On Wednesday, Essayli posted a link to a video of a “behind the scenes look at Operation Guardian Angel, which is transferring hundreds of criminal illegal immigrants from California sanctuary jails to federal custody.” The link he posted is no longer active, so here is the video he mentioned, from the California Post:
Federal authorities captured a child molester, a rapist and an accused killer in a sophisticated operation that has rid SoCal of hundreds of criminal illegal migrants. https://t.co/YJPQ3h0rRu pic.twitter.com/7DeXHhZ2Dc
— California Post (@californiapost) August 12, 2026
Notice that one of the illegal aliens, accused of domestic violence, tried to make himself out to be a victim. I know leftists who would swallow his story hook, line, and sinker, even though he is a double criminal for illegal entry and domestic violence. But that alien apparently has the attitude that many others have, which is that he has a right to come here to America, and if he simply says he is afraid to go back home and wants to work, that should be his automatic pass to living here forever.
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When the Feds first launched Operation Guardian Angel last May, Essayli issued a press release in which his office explained that the operation would involve issuing federal arrest warrants for illegal aliens, thus bypassing state officials’ refusal to hand over the criminals willingly. “Even the worst criminal aliens in state custody are frequently released into the community because California’s sanctuary state policies block cooperation with federal law enforcement,” said Essayli. “These laws effectively render federal immigration detainers meaningless.” But he discovered a way to get custody of the aliens.
Fast forward over a year. Essayli declared this week that the operation has “been a tremendous success. We’ve picked up hundreds of criminal illegal aliens from local CA jails despite state law making it illegal for local law enforcement to cooperate with us.” He urged other states and other U.S. attorneys to follow his example and use a model with a proven track record of forcing sanctuary states to turn over illegal alien criminals.
That is indeed excellent advice, and hopefully brave U.S. attorneys in other sanctuary states will take up the challenge.
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