Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times,

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a Sept. 20 statement that it warned California, Illinois, and New York state to cooperate with the federal government on deporting illegal immigrants.

The DHS said it was, via Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), following up on letters sent to the three states’ attorneys general on Sept. 10 to confirm whether they would notify ICE when illegal immigrants are set to be released from jail or prison so they can be transferred into the agency’s custody.

DHS said that ICE had received responses from Illinois and New York, which affirmed their refusal to comply, and had not received a response from California.

According to the statement, ICE said in its Sept. 19 correspondence that while it would prefer to work in cooperation with state officials, it will “engage with the Department of Justice and other Federal partners to pursue all appropriate measures to end their inadvisable and irresponsible obstruction of the apprehension and removal of criminal illegal aliens.”

Homeland Security said that despite the rejection of cooperation from these and other states, the department had arrested more than 400,000 illegal immigrants, 70 percent of whom have criminal convictions or have been charged with crimes.

The statement went on to list several criminal illegal immigrants who had been released back onto American streets after committing crimes, including those with an alleged history of rape, battery, drug, and weapons offences. Some were also identified as belonging to gangs, including Tren De Aragua and Latin Kings.

The Epoch Times contacted the three attorneys general for comment, but their offices did not respond by publication time.

“These dangerous sanctuary policies, often combined with cashless bail for serious crimes, allow criminal illegal aliens to be released back into American communities — threatening the American people’s lives and wellbeing,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

“ICE detainers ask for something very simple: To notify ICE when criminal illegal aliens are released from jail or prison, to ensure that they go into ICE custody before they are released back onto our streets. These sanctuary state politicians should do the right thing and side with law-abiding Americans over criminal illegal aliens.”

Since President Donald Trump returned to office for his second term in January 2025, he has launched a tough immigration enforcement campaign, reinforcing the southern border and pledging to deport millions of illegal immigrants.

Additional funding for these border security measures comes from the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the president signed into law in July.