California jails transfer hundreds of illegal aliens into federal custody

August 12, 2026

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at San Luis Obispo County Jail

By KAREN VELIE

Hundreds of criminal illegal aliens have been transferred from jails in seven California counties, including San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, to federal custody since last year’s launch of Operation Guardian Angel.

Because of Operation Guardian Angel, which seeks to neutralize California’s sanctuary state law, 362 criminal undocumented immigrants were moved from county jails into federal custody. The Central District of California – which includes the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riversidee and San Bernardino – is home to an estimated 1.5 million illegal aliens, including gang members and dangerous felons.

As part of the operation, agents and prosecutors secure federal warrants for aliens recently arrested by local law enforcement. County jails are required to honor the arrest warrants and must hand over the illegal alien in their custody.

Launched in May 2025, 769 arrest warrants were issued leading to the transfer of 362 defendants to federal custody. Of those, 347 were charged with illegally reentering the United States following removal. Other charges include possession of a firearm by an alien, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, using a firearm in drug trafficking or a crime of violence, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

“Broken California ‘sanctuary state’ policies endanger the public and cannot go unchallenged by the federal government,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Operation Guardian Angel is an answer to these misguided policies. Through this task force we are forcing California to do the thing it hates most: handing hundreds of criminal illegal aliens into federal custody to face justice and deportation.”

Defendants include:

Héctor Bueno-Moreno, 55, of San Luis Obispo, is an illegal alien from Mexico who was removed in Sept. 2001 and Jan. 2020. His criminal history includes a 1995 rape conviction in Kern County Superior Court.

In Aug. 2025, San Luis Obispo County sheriff deputies arrested Bueno-Moreeno on a bench warrant out of Santa Barbara County. He pleaded guilty last year to improper entry by an alien. He was removed to Mexico in Sept. 2025.

Alejandro Lima Ramírez, 46, a.k.a. “Fidel Garcia Vasquez,” of Santa Maria, is a four-time-deported illegal alien from Mexico. His criminal history includes convictions for drug trafficking, stalking, domestic violence, robbery, theft, and driving under the influence.

In jail for drug and traffic offenses, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office transferred Lima Ramírez to federal custody last year. He is serving a 30-month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in Oct. 2025 to being an illegal alien found in the United States following removal.

Andrés Velásquez Ocampo, 37, of Santa Ana, is an illegal alien from Mexico who was deported in Jan. 2019 and was arrested in South Gate in May 2025 on drug charges. His criminal history includes convictions for carjacking and hit-and-run with property damage.

Velásquez Ocampo pleaded guilty in Nov. 2025 to one count of an illegal alien found in the United States following removal. After serving three months in federal prison, he was removed to Mexico in Dec. 2025.

Jaime Rodríguez Ladesma, 70, of Long Beach is an illegal alien from Mexico who was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court in Oct. 2023 of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and then deported in Dec. 2023.

He subsequently illegally returned to the United States. He was removed to Mexico in March 2026.

Ricardo López Jaramillo, 50, a.k.a. “Sharky,” of Pasadena is a five-time-deported illegal alien from Mexico and gang member whose criminal history includes multiple felony robbery convictions in Los Angeles Superior Court, and a 2007 conviction in San Diego federal court of three counts of illegal entry, for which he was sentenced to three years in federal prison.

In Nov. 2025, López Jaramillo was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a charge of being an illegal alien found in the United States following removal. He was removed to Mexico in June 2026.

In Feb. 2025, José Cristián Saravia-Sánchez, 31, of Mexico shot and killed an Inglewood man who tried to stop him from stealing a catalytic converter. He was an illegal alien who had been convicted of vehicle theft and was removed from the United States in 2013.

Local law enforcement arrested Saravia-Sánchez 11 times between June 2022 and Aug. 2024.

Even so, local law enforcement was prevented by state law from complying with an immigration detainer request.

“Operation Guardian Angel is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.