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?” said Department of Homeland Security 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 released directly to ICE in 2022, records show.  As for Veneracion, state prison officials in May told ICE about the prisoner’s upcoming release, but the feds did not pick him up. Instead, the convicted sex offender was released, 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 9,000 people with those backgrounds to ICE since Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, state data 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 authorities 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 Security. Officials at those jails said they did not know whether sheriff’s deputies had been in communication with ICE about those men prior to their release. Top Trump officials have repeatedly said they’re targeting “criminal illegal aliens,” but immigrant and civil rights groups allege federal authorities have launched an indiscriminate enforcement blitz that’s mostly netted day laborers and workers from Latino communities who are not threats to public safety. Between June 6 and June 22, immigration enforcement teams arrested 1,618 immigrants for deportation in Los Angeles and surrounding regions of Southern California, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed 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 data obtained by the Cato Institute shows 65% of the people booked into ICE detention since October 2024 have no criminal convictions. More than 93% of those booked were never convicted of violent offenses, according to the libertarian research center. Data shows immigrants — including those who are undocumented — commit crimes at much lower rates than U.S.-born citizens do. Officials 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 authorities to coordinate the prisoner’s release directly to immigration authorities, typically to start the process for deportation.  ICE holds or detainers are the primary method immigration authorities use to find people for deportation. Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a national nonprofit that provides legal training and does pro-immigrant policy work in California and Texas, estimated in January that 70 to 75% 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 90 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 released, 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 2025, ICE has picked up 587 people of 11,231 inmates released from the state prison system. They pick up about 87% of the people whom they’ve placed detainers on, state data shows.   What we know about former prisoners detained in LA Veneracion-Enriquez, 55, was released from a California state prison in May after spending 28 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 officials confirmed 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 released within 15 days. Typically, the federal immigration agency prefers to apprehend criminals in a controlled location directly outside a state prison.  But on May 19, ICE cancelled the hold, according to state officials. He was released a day later. Veneracion was released and given an ankle monitor to wear that broadcast his location to law enforcement authorities. 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 authorities then arrested Veneracion, a citizen of the Philippines, on June 7 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 Security Department’s “worst of the worst” list, was released directly into ICE’s custody in August 2022 during the Biden administration, according to corrections department records.  He was on parole until Aug. 14, 2024.  “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 Security sent out to publicize its arrest of Chanh Phan, a 49-year-old from Vietnam. He had spent 24 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 Security wrote in the press release.  It is unclear what happened after California released him to ICE, such as whether Chanh Phan remained in ICE detention or whether he was released 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 authorities face off against protesters during an ICE raid at Ambiance Apparel in Downtown Los Angeles on June 6, 2025. 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 officials 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 officials 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 told the Orange County Board of Supervisors that out of 48,000 suspects booked into jail in 2024, 733 were deportable, but the state’s sanctuary law prevented deputies from alerting ICE about 456 inmates. Of the remaining 277, 49 were not picked up by federal authorities, Barnes told the board.   “Those who are not picked up by ICE continue to victimize our community and consume law enforcement resources,” he told the county board.  State lawmakers have tried expanding the sanctuary protections to people in prison. In 2019 and 2023, Newsom vetoed two bills that would have restricted the corrections department’s cooperation with ICE. In the most recent veto, he said that the current law  “strikes the right balance.” Newsom has long positioned California as a bastion of immigrant rights, often clashing publicly with federal officials over deportation policy. But under his watch, the state has facilitated thousands of transfers from prison to ICE – a point he recently 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 recently posted, responding to criticism from a former Trump aide in April. “P.S. Voldermort, you should know the state has coordinated 10,588+ 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.