There's more than one way to skin a cat, as the old saying goes.

And with the Trump administration's deep bench of on-the-ball heavy hitters, there's more than one way to get around recalcitrant sanctuary states' insufferable righteousness, and active interference in immigration enforcement while protecting the worst of the border jumpers in the name of all of God's children.

Oh. Wait a minute...

Most of them don't believe in God, so let's just say protecting illegal criminals with 'complete indifference to national sovereignty and the safety of their own citizens.'

That'll do.

In California, DHS and its partners have had a truly difficult time as the state battles to keep the feds out of the deportation business.

But they may have run up against yet another example of the sterling professionals Trump has staffed these positions with.

The new U.S. Attorney for the District of California is named Bill Essayli, and he's not taking 'no' or silence for an answer anymore. Fox's Bill Melugin said remarkable things are beginning to happen.

And it's all above board, perfectly legal. Simply eagle-eyed detective work on available paperwork.

EXCLUSIVE: We witnessed an incredibly rare sight in the sanctuary city of Los Angeles, as Twin Towers jail transferred an illegal alien inmate to ICE custody, not because sanctuary policies have changed, but because the jail is being *forced* to cooperate w/ ICE as part of a new… pic.twitter.com/j7DhevmVwr

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 19, 2025

...but because the jail is being *forced* to cooperate w/ ICE as part of a new federal operation designed to "neutralize" California's sanctuary state law. 

The new Trump-appointed US Attorney in Los Angeles, @USAttyEssayli, launched "Operation Guardian Angel" last week, and it's already forcing sanctuary jails to make transfers to ICE. 

How does it work? Essayli has organized a federal task force made up of ICE, FBI, HSI, DEA, and ATF, working out of an office in downtown LA. Every single day, they are now scanning criminal databases w/ fingerprints and identifying illegal aliens in jails throughout Southern California who have been previously deported from the United States. 

If they've come back to the US after a deportation, they've committed a federal felony under 8 USC 1326 known as "illegal re-entry".

Essayli and his staff have developed a brilliant workaround, and identifying these previously deported reentries does what?

That's the beauty of Essayli's plan. 

...He’s launching "Operation Guardian Angel," which is a task force, made up of assets from ICE, HSI, DEA, FBI, ATF, and Border Patrol, to begin scanning a criminal database every single day to identify arrested illegal aliens in local jurisdictions that DOJ can charge with felony illegal-reentry.

"They've made it almost impossible for ICE to do their job, issue detainers and get criminal illegal immigrants out of jails. So what we're doing instead is we're going to start issuing warrants," he told Fox News.

"We're going to flood the system with warrants for criminal illegal immigration that are in county jails, they can ignore a detainer, but they cannot ignore a criminal arrest warrant," Essayli continued. 

"As soon as an illegal immigrant is booked into a county jail, we're reviewing their file. And if they meet the elements of illegal reentry, which is a federal crime, we are filing a complaint and getting an arrest warrant issued before they're released from state custody."

Essayli said that the first-of-its-kind program will make the Golden State a "testing ground" for other sanctuary jurisdictions throughout the country, as the administration aims to get illegal aliens with criminal charges and convictions swiftly out of the United States.

Lemme have Melugin repeat that part because that is the key.

...Unlike an administrative ICE warrant or ICE detainer request, these criminal judicial warrants for 8 USC 1326 *CANNOT* be ignored by sanctuary jurisdictions, and California's sanctuary state law cannot shield aliens from these criminal warrants. Instead of releasing the alien inmates and ignoring ICE detainers, jails must hand the aliens over to the Feds, regardless of sanctuary policy.

A sanctuary state cannot ignore a signed criminal arrest warrant and must turn said miscreant over to the feds.

Holy smokes, this is straight out of the statutes, so there's nothing for a lefty judge to argue, not that they won't try.

Melugin says once it's completely up to speed, they hope to be pulling dozens of illegal criminals straight out of Los Angeles jails for deportation every single week.

...The task force says once they're at full steam, they project they will be arresting 40-50 aliens from local jails every week, and that if it's successful in LA, US Attorneys can use it as a model to neutralize sanctuary jurisdictions in other parts of the country.

And suddenly, the LA district attorney is talking tough?

Is there a Glimmer of Hope for Los Angeles?
🔹LA County DA Nathan Hochman vows crackdown on Illegal Aliens holding them accountable.
🔹"Fun is over. Criminals will now be prosecuted." pic.twitter.com/QlRpeVcO0D

— DogeWatchReport (@DogeWatchReport) May 19, 2025

He's still hamstrung by state law, but there's always hope that cracks are beginning to show in the Great Wall of Sanctuary.

With this concerted and innovative assault on them, they could crumble before you know it.