150 immigrants arrested in Southern California operation

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it arrested 150 immigrants across Southern California this week in an operation targeting public safety threats.

The agency says approximately 90 percent of those apprehended Sunday through Tuesday have criminal convictions and about 40 percent had previously been released by local law enforcement agencies despite federal detainers.

A detainer asks an arresting agency to notify immigration officers prior to releasing a person.

Among those arrested were a man with a conviction for attempted murder and a woman who has seven convictions for driving under the influence.

In a statement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement official Thomas Giles renewed the agency’s complaint that California laws put serious repeat offenders back onto the streets instead of being transferred from jails to federal custody.