On August 12, 2026, federal authorities conducted Operation Guardian Angel, a coordinated enforcement action across seven Southern California counties (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura), resulting in 362 arrests of previously deported migrants. The operation targeted foreign nationals who had been arrested by local police on criminal charges and who had prior deportations. Among those arrested were José Cristian Saravia-Sánchez, 31, who was removed from the United States in 2013 and illegally returned, and was accused of shooting and killing an Inglewood man during a catalytic converter theft in 2025; Daniel Garcia, a Mexican national deported for illegal entry who paid $10,000 to a smuggler to re-enter and faced domestic battery charges; Raul Aranda Gutierrez, arrested for reckless driving in a car wreck that injured two women; Jaime Rodríguez Ladesma, 70, deported in December 2023 after a conviction for lewd acts with a child; Héctor Bueno-Moreno, 55, deported in September 2001 and January 2020, with a 1995 rape conviction in Kern County; and Lauro Alberto Rivas, a Mexican national with a criminal record including weapons offenses, grand theft, and drunk driving convictions, who after serving eight months in jail for carrying a gun in public expressed remorse for his actions, stating "I regret what I did. I understand I make mistakes. I want to be sent home now. I want to see my family." Federal prosecutors filed new federal criminal charges against these individuals, allowing ICE to assume custody before they could be released from county jails under California sanctuary policies.