U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is launching a 45-day major operation in California, despite the state’s longstanding sanctuary state policies that flout federal law.
The operation will reportedly begin in San Diego, and move up north through San Francisco. The agency plans on arresting all illegal aliens they find, regardless of their criminal history or lack thereof. According to one official, “The challenge may be San Francisco. There may be more pushback. … More liberal than LA.” President Donald J. Trump had previously considered sending the National Guard to San Francisco, but decided against it after speaking with the city’s mayor, Daniel Lurie.
California politicians have regularly attempted to disrupt the Trump administration’s immigration policies, though it’s not clear that their actions have made much of an impact. In 2025, Democratic State Senator Scott Wiener authored a bill banning ICE from wearing masks, and more recently has attempted to make it easier to sue the agency. While California Governor Gavin Newsom signed both bills into law, the first has no impact on ICE as a federal agency, and the second scans as performative liberal signaling.
Newsom, predictably, condemned reports of the latest ICE operation, saying, “California will stand up for our communities and hold federal agents accountable. Know your rights and exercise them safely.” Democratic politicians have regularly focused on what they claim are individual ICE abuses, while never having to answer for the fact that they flatly oppose deporting illegal aliens in general. San Francisco, in fact, opposes deporting illegal aliens convicted of dealing fentanyl, bolstering the argument that it is likely ICE’s most liberal target in the state.
Notably, the planned operation will not involve the number of officers that were previously sent into Minnesota last year. Still, California Democrats are sure to seize on any clashes or high-profile incidents in their ongoing crusade to delegitimize immigration enforcement. Of course, they could have avoided the situation in the first place, if they had simply enforced the country’s laws.
