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A five-day immigration sweep has led to the arrest of 212 undocumented immigrants and the targeting of 122 firms in Southern California, federal officials said Friday.
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in late January targeted at least 77 businesses in Northern California .
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The Trump administration's clampdown on illegal immigration in California follows the state passing a controversial sanctuary law.
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ICE has previously said it planned to significantly increase immigration enforcement in the nation's workplace.
The federal government's immigration crackdown in California widened Friday with the announcement that a five-day sweep led to the arrest of 212 undocumented immigrants and the targeting of 122 businesses in Southern California.
The action comes on the heels of raids in Northern California targeting undocumented immigrant workers.
The Trump administration's clampdown on illegal immigration in California follows the state's controversial "sanctuary law," which limits local law enforcement cooperation with immigration authorities, going into effect in January.
The state also passed a law that bars employers from voluntarily giving employee information to federal authorities. In January, the state's attorney general, Xavier Becerra, warned that businesses could face a $10,000 fine if they violated the new law.
"This seems to be a battle between California as a state and the federal government," said Angelo Paparelli, an immigration attorney in the L.A. office of Seyfarth Shaw. "The employers when they are served with notices of inspection have an awareness that this isn't just a civil enforcement proceeding — it could very well lead to a criminal enforcement proceeding."
According to ICE, its deportation officers and special officers arrested 212 people for violating federal immigration laws and served notices of inspection to 122 businesses in Southern California. ICE said 88 percent of those arrested were convicted criminals, including some convicted of serious or violent offenses, such as child sex crimes, weapons charges and assault.
ICE said in a press release the week-long enforcement action in the agency's Los Angeles region targeted those "individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security."
At the same time, the federal agency also said it "no longer exempts classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States."