California Released Nearly 24,000 Criminal Illegal Aliens Under Sanctuary Policies, DHS Says

The Department of Homeland Security said November 2 that California has released nearly 24,000 criminal illegal aliens from state and local jails since January 20, 2025, rather than honor ICE detainers. The non-honored detainers are associated with more than 81,000 criminal charges or convictions.

Those figures include 169 homicides, 147 sexual assaults, 1,088 drug trafficking charges, 1,097 assaults, and 3,295 burglaries, according to the DHS statement.

“Governor Gavin Newsom and his cronies in California have turned the Golden State into a hotbed of illegal alien crime,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “Sanctuary politicians have not only refused to cooperate with federal law enforcement to target and arrest the worst of the worst – but they’ve released nearly 24,000 criminal illegal aliens onto the streets of California to terrorize innocent Americans.”

Mullin added that California officials “have repeatedly chosen to ignore ICE detainers for illegal aliens in their custody, and released murderers, child abusers, kidnappers, and gang members back onto the street.” He said the Trump administration “will always put the American people first.”

The DHS release listed specific cases in which local authorities declined detainers. Among them:

• Ursulo Montenegro Martinez, a Mexican national with convictions for negligent manslaughter with a weapon and narcotics offenses, released by Los Angeles County after a June 2025 detainer.
• Salvador Jesus Serpas-Hernandez, a Salvadoran national and Rebels 13 gang member convicted of murder and cruelty to a child, released by Los Angeles County after an April 2026 detainer.
• Javier Balbuena Fernandez, a Cuban national convicted of second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, released by Los Angeles County after an April 2025 detainer.
• Samuel Darling Cruz Florino, a Mexican national convicted of voluntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping, released by Sacramento County after a June 2026 detainer.

The statement also cited other recent incidents involving criminal illegal aliens in California, including semi-truck crashes that killed multiple people, a fatal stabbing of two women and a baby in Modesto, the sexual assault of a 6-year-old at a Sacramento daycare, and a hit-and-run that injured a 4-year-old in Fresno. In several cases, ICE lodged detainers that were not honored.

DHS noted that California’s policies have affected other states as well. Examples included a semi-truck driver given a California CDL who was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide in Ohio, and an individual arrested for murder in Utah after prior California domestic-violence arrests in which detainers were refused.

California has long maintained sanctuary laws that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Governor Newsom has previously said the state coordinates some prisoner transfers with ICE and has vetoed measures that would further restrict such cooperation. The November 2 DHS statement does not include a direct response from the governor’s office to the specific figures released that day.

The numbers cover the period since President Trump returned to office and reflect the administration’s stated priority of prioritizing the removal of criminal illegal aliens. ICE continues to conduct targeted operations nationwide, including in sanctuary jurisdictions, according to prior DHS announcements.