Chairmen Jordan, McClintock, and Issa Demand Information on Sanctuary Policies from California Officials
June 2, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) sent letters to San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez and San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl demanding information on their offices' dangerous sanctuary policies.
In late 2024, the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance to "prohibit county law enforcement from assisting ICE in deporting migrants, giving more protection than they have under California's existing sanctuary laws." Following this action, Sheriff Martinez made clear that her office will follow state law, which she noted did not include a "loophole" for further limiting cooperation with ICE for the most dangerous criminals in her custody. Martinez has also stated that "[t]he Board of Supervisors does not set policy for the Sheriff's Office."
In November 2025, an illegal alien from Mexico hit and killed 11-year-old Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz as the child "was playing with another child and chasing his soccer ball at the end of a residential street outside his home." After the illegal alien's arrest, ICE lodged a detainer against him, which Martinez's office, citing California law, rejected. Last year, the state's sanctuary policies also led to rejected detainers in San Diego for an illegal alien arrested for "willful cruelty to [a] child and assault with deadly weapon using force causing possible great bodily injury" and another illegal alien arrested for "aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery on an ex-spouse." In just one year, California's refusal to honor detainers "resulted in the release of 4,561 criminal illegal aliens," with crimes ranging from homicide to robbery to assault.
The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is "not allowed to ask about immigration status, participate in immigration enforcement[,] or assist with immigration arrests." In early April 2026, the San Diego City Council unanimously passed the Due Process and Safety Ordinance to further limit immigration enforcement in the city, including by requiring a judicial warrant for federal immigration officials to access "non-public city property."
Chairmen Jordan and McClintock also sent letters to San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto and San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew. California has limited local law enforcement's ability to cooperate with federal immigration officials, including by prohibiting jurisdictions from honoring ICE detainers for most criminal aliens for years. San Francisco has made it even more difficult for ICE to arrest criminals in its community by prohibiting the use of "resources to assist in the enforcement of Federal immigration law," restricting information sharing about a criminal alien's release date, and further limiting compliance with ICE detainers.
San Francisco's pro-illegal alien policies ensure dangerous criminals are released from the San Francisco Sheriff's Office (SFSO) custody and free to reoffend. Even when confronted by the dangerous effects of sanctuary policies, Miyamoto has defended them. Just last year, Miyamoto boasted that "out of thousands of requests for detention" from ICE, his office had "only honored one." In fact, the city's sanctuary policies even prevented immigration officials from interviewing an illegal alien from Canada who attacked then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at the couple's home in October 2022.
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) has similarly implemented policies to limit immigration enforcement, reminding officers to not enforce "ICE administrative warrants/holds."
In practice, San Francisco's pro-illegal alien policies ensure dangerous criminals are released from SFPD's custody—or never apprehended by SFPD at all—and are free to reoffend.
Read the letter to Sheriff Miyamoto here.
Read the letter to SFPD Chief Lew here.
Read the letter to Sheriff Martinez here.
Read the letter to SDPD Chief Wahl here.
In late 2024, the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance to "prohibit county law enforcement from assisting ICE in deporting migrants, giving more protection than they have under California's existing sanctuary laws." Following this action, Sheriff Martinez made clear that her office will follow state law, which she noted did not include a "loophole" for further limiting cooperation with ICE for the most dangerous criminals in her custody. Martinez has also stated that "[t]he Board of Supervisors does not set policy for the Sheriff's Office."
In November 2025, an illegal alien from Mexico hit and killed 11-year-old Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz as the child "was playing with another child and chasing his soccer ball at the end of a residential street outside his home." After the illegal alien's arrest, ICE lodged a detainer against him, which Martinez's office, citing California law, rejected. Last year, the state's sanctuary policies also led to rejected detainers in San Diego for an illegal alien arrested for "willful cruelty to [a] child and assault with deadly weapon using force causing possible great bodily injury" and another illegal alien arrested for "aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery on an ex-spouse." In just one year, California's refusal to honor detainers "resulted in the release of 4,561 criminal illegal aliens," with crimes ranging from homicide to robbery to assault.
The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is "not allowed to ask about immigration status, participate in immigration enforcement[,] or assist with immigration arrests." In early April 2026, the San Diego City Council unanimously passed the Due Process and Safety Ordinance to further limit immigration enforcement in the city, including by requiring a judicial warrant for federal immigration officials to access "non-public city property."
Chairmen Jordan and McClintock also sent letters to San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto and San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew. California has limited local law enforcement's ability to cooperate with federal immigration officials, including by prohibiting jurisdictions from honoring ICE detainers for most criminal aliens for years. San Francisco has made it even more difficult for ICE to arrest criminals in its community by prohibiting the use of "resources to assist in the enforcement of Federal immigration law," restricting information sharing about a criminal alien's release date, and further limiting compliance with ICE detainers.
San Francisco's pro-illegal alien policies ensure dangerous criminals are released from the San Francisco Sheriff's Office (SFSO) custody and free to reoffend. Even when confronted by the dangerous effects of sanctuary policies, Miyamoto has defended them. Just last year, Miyamoto boasted that "out of thousands of requests for detention" from ICE, his office had "only honored one." In fact, the city's sanctuary policies even prevented immigration officials from interviewing an illegal alien from Canada who attacked then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at the couple's home in October 2022.
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) has similarly implemented policies to limit immigration enforcement, reminding officers to not enforce "ICE administrative warrants/holds."
In practice, San Francisco's pro-illegal alien policies ensure dangerous criminals are released from SFPD's custody—or never apprehended by SFPD at all—and are free to reoffend.
Read the letter to Sheriff Miyamoto here.
Read the letter to SFPD Chief Lew here.
Read the letter to Sheriff Martinez here.
Read the letter to SDPD Chief Wahl here.
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