Days after it officially became the first sanctuary state in the nation, Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Thomas Homan sternly advised California to \u201chold on tight\u201d and prepare for a significant increase in enforcement efforts in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf [California Gov. Jerry Brown] thinks he\u2019s protecting immigrant communities, he\u2019s doing quite the opposite because if he thinks ICE is going away, we\u2019re not. There\u2019s no sanctuary from federal law enforcement. Matter of fact we\u2019re in the process now\u2026 I\u2019m going to significantly increase our enforcement presence in California, we\u2019re already doing it,\u201d Homan said in an interview<\/a> with Fox News\u2019 Neil Cavuto.<\/p>\n Homan, who was officially tapped to serve as ICE director last November, said Brown put his officers at risk when he signed legislation last October making California a sanctuary state.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s terrible\u2013you got the state of California that wants to put politics ahead of public safety, ahead of officer safety. What they have done is forced my officers to arrest dangerous criminals on their turf, in their homes and places of business, rather than arresting them in the safety and security of a county jail. It\u2019s ridiculous to annoyingly and intentionally put law enforcement at risk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The acting director told Fox News he would be speaking with officials at the Justice Department about which avenues to pursue to withhold funds from sanctuary jurisdictions or taking them to court.<\/p>\n And, he added<\/a>, \u201cwe gotta start charging some of these politicians with crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Homan, of the criminal aliens who are released, at least 50 percent will likely reoffend within a year and 75 percent will reoffend within five years.<\/p>\n Brown is not the only politician to come under fire from ICE officials. The end-of-year announcement by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that he had granted clemency 18 criminal aliens facing deportation drew the ire of Thomas Decker, New York field office director for ICE\u2019s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the governor\u2019s pardons appear to be yet another politically driven attempt to circumvent federal immigration law, whether or not they actually have any legal effect on individual immigration cases will be reviewed by ICE,\u201d Decker said in a statement on Jan. 1, according to the Epoch Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFor aliens who remain subject to final orders of removal under federal law, ICE will execute those lawful orders,\u201d Decker reassured the public.<\/p>\n President Trump made clear on January 25, 2017 when he signed Executive Order 13,768,\u00a0Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(EO), that immigration enforcement and removal were priorities for his administration and ICE has set forth to implement the policy on the ground.<\/p>\n