Six California Republican state lawmakers, in a June 27 letter, urged President Donald Trump to focus Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations on illegal immigrants who are violent criminals rather than conducting operations at workplaces.
“We support the enforcement of federal law—and we back your deployment of the National Guard to protect federal property from the violent and unlawful protests,” the lawmakers wrote.
“But we urge you to direct ICE and [the Department of Homeland Security] DHS to focus their enforcement operations on criminal immigrants, and when possible, to avoid the kinds of sweeping raids that instill fear and disrupt the workplace.”
The request was signed by state Sens. Suzette Valladares, of Santa Clarita; Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, of Yucaipa; Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, of Santee; and Assembly members Heath Flora, of Ripon; Diane Dixon, of Newport Beach; and Laurie Davis, of Laguna Niguel.
The lawmakers stated they fully supported efforts to identify, detain, and deport violent criminals. They also said they supported the use of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines during the June riots in Los Angeles.
However, the officials claim in the letter that recent operations carried out by ICE and DHS in California and Los Angeles County have resulted in non-criminal illegal immigrants being swept up and have caused fear and disruption in workplaces.
“Unfortunately, the recent ICE workplace raids on farms, at construction sites, and in restaurants and hotels have led to unintended consequences that are harming the communities we represent and the businesses that employ our constituents,” the lawmakers wrote.
The officials called on the president to modernize the nation’s immigration process to allow non-criminal illegal immigrants with longstanding ties to their communities a pathway to legal status. They also called on him to expand and reform the H-2A and H-2B visa programs to authorize more legal guest workers.
“From construction to hospitality to food processing, California’s employers are struggling to fill positions,” they wrote in the letter. “Legal, temporary labor should be easier to access and better tailored to support a strong California economy.”
Immigration enforcement operations in California ramped up last month, sparking protests and riots in downtown Los Angeles and other cities. The demonstrations led to the destruction of property and buildings and resulted in several arrests.
The president deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to the city to protect federal officers and facilities as immigration operations continued in what Trump has called the “largest mass deportation program in history.”
On June 15, in a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump expanded enforcement efforts to detain and deport illegal immigrants in the nation’s largest sanctuary cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.
A protester shatters the window of a Waymo vehicle during a demonstration following federal immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles. Demonstrators torched cars and scuffled with security forces on June 8, 2025, as police kept them away from the National Guard troops sent by President Donald Trump. (Blake Fagan/AFP via Getty Images)
The White House responded to the letter, saying that Trump remains committed to the immigration operations.
“President Trump remains committed to carrying out the largest mass deportation operation in history by removing dangerous, violent criminal illegal aliens from American communities and targeting the sanctuary cities that provide safe harbor to criminal illegals,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Epoch Times in an email on July 1.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House on June 30, 2025. (Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also reiterated that the president was focused on public safety threats.
“The White House is working closely every day with the Department of Homeland Security when it comes to worksite enforcement,” Leavitt told reporters on June 30.
“And the president’s focus and the focus of this administration is, of course, to remove public safety threats from the streets and to deport as many of the illegal criminals--especially the violent criminals--that we know are still here because of the previous administration.”
Trump visited “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida on July 1. Once opened, the facility, located about 36 miles southwest of Miami, is expected to house up to 5,000 illegal immigrants awaiting deportation.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the date of the letter by California Republican state lawmakers. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
