As the White House ramps up its offensive against so-called sanctuary cities, tensions have risen between the Los Angeles County sheriff and Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the federal agency’s operations.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Times last week, Sheriff Alex Villanueva criticized the recent deployment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to help ICE make arrests in “sanctuary” jurisdictions and said he would “shred” subpoenas from the agency that are not signed by a judge.
Villanueva, who promised during his 2018 campaign to end the “pipeline to deportation,” has taken a hard-line stance on ICE — although some immigrant advocates argue he has not done enough to distance himself.
In a recent press briefing, the sheriff said he opposed “SWAT-style agents” helping ICE execute arrests, calling it “overkill” and a form of “weaponizing immigration laws.”
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