LA Sheriff's Department Is Sending Inmates Into ICE Custody: Report

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has begun sending some jailed inmates into the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the first time in years, using a legal loophole that doesn't appear to violate sanctuary ordinances aimed at protecting people from deportation, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.

The sheriff's department has avoided sending inmates over to ICE since 2020, according to the report. But records show at least eight inmates were released to ICE in May and another dozen in June, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The department and legal experts said the transfers were done lawfully and followed city and state sanctuary laws, as all but one of the inmates transferred into ICE custody had federal judicial warrants under their names, according to the report. The one other person without a judicial warrant was transferred to ICE to face criminal charges previously agreed upon by the Department of Homeland Security and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Although Los Angeles County officials have explored ways to provide resources to residents affected by immigration raids, the county itself has not formally been declared a sanctuary jurisdiction.

Still, according to a county spokesperson, officials are "committed to ensuring that County services and locations are accessible to everyone in our communities."

"The County has and will continue to comply with applicable federal law as we support our residents through policies that enhance public health and safety," a county spokesperson said in a statement.

The city of Los Angeles, meanwhile, unanimously adopted a sanctuary city ordinance in December 2024 and codified protections for migrants living in the United States illegally, while prohibiting the direct or indirect sharing of data with federal immigration authorities.

As a sanctuary city, Los Angeles agencies are also not allowed to use resources or personnel, such as police departments, to help the federal government enforce immigration laws in most cases.

The sheriff's department, however, told the LA Times that the local and state ordinances allow them to cooperate with federal agencies if an inmate has a judicial warrant against them.

The action comes just a few weeks after the Justice Department sued Mayor Karen Bass and city councilmembers over Los Angeles' sanctuary city policy, accusing them of violating the Constitution.

The lawsuit represented the Trump administration's latest front against Los Angeles, which has largely served as an epicenter for immigration sweeps. The administration has sought to make an example of Los Angeles, flooding streets with military and aggressive immigration raids unlike those conducted in other parts of the country. Masked Border Patrol agents in unmarked cars are pulling residents off the street, frequently detaining U.S. citizens who criticize their methods.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times.