California accounts for the vast majority of instances where local jails and prisons decline requests from federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants arrested on criminal charges, according to newly released data.
Analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a group advocating for stricter immigration enforcement, found that California facilities were responsible for over half of all refused ICE detainer requests across the United States since the beginning of the fiscal year 2023.
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The data, covering the period from fiscal year 2023 through February 6, 2025, showed a total of 22,283 declined detainers nationwide. Of those, more than 13,000 refusals came from California. Illinois had the second-highest number with 2,946 declined detainers, followed by Virginia with 1,601.
An ICE detainer is a request issued to a local or state law enforcement agency asking them to hold a potentially deportable non-citizen in their custody for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release time. This allows ICE agents the opportunity to take custody of the individual. ICE argues that transferring custody within the secure environment of a jail or prison is safer for officers and the public compared to attempting arrests in the community.
While California’s large population is a factor, the state’s comprehensive “sanctuary” laws significantly limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. The California Values Act, signed in 2017 by then-Governor Jerry Brown, established broad restrictions on sharing information and complying with detainer requests. This law expanded upon the 2014 Trust Act, which already prevented local agencies from honoring detainers for individuals arrested for many misdemeanors.
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Furthermore, several major localities within California have enacted even stricter sanctuary policies. Cities like Los Angeles and counties like San Diego have implemented measures that further limit exceptions, with San Diego’s recent policy being dubbed a “super sanctuary” law by critics for eliminating state-allowed cooperation even in cases involving serious crimes like rape, child abuse, or gang violence.
Former Governor Brown, considered the architect of California’s statewide sanctuary policies, recently suggested that some current implementations may have gone too far. In December, he noted that the Values Act he signed contained exceptions for those convicted of serious or violent crimes, stating, “Subsequent legislation has taken it broader, and some of the cities… have gone way, way beyond… I think that is going to prove difficult.”
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The concentration of declined detainers in California is starkly illustrated in the ICE data. Of the top 30 jails nationwide with the most refused detainers or failures to provide sufficient notice of release to ICE, 18 are located in California.
The CIS analysis also highlighted specific cases, reporting that during the period studied, 72 non-citizens charged or convicted of homicide were released from local custody despite ICE detainer requests. According to the data, California jails and prisons accounted for 29 of those releases.
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