California governor Gavin Newsom debunked a claim by senior Trump officials that his state plans to release more than 33,000 undocumented criminals from its jails.

On Friday, Stephen Miller, the deputy White House chief of staff, posted on X that “California is getting ready to free up to 33 thousand criminal illegal aliens.”

Miller’s post referred to a press release from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which announced that the acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Todd Lyons, had urged the California attorney general Rob Bonta to honor arrest detainers for 33,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions held in the state’s prison.

“Criminal illegal aliens should not be released from jails back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans. If we work together, we can make America safe again. 7 of the 10 safest cities in the U.S. cooperate with ICE law enforcement,” said Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary.

Newsom’s office was quick to explain how the California prison system has long complied with such requests, while accusing the Trump administration of trying to “distract” from the president posting a racist video of Barack and Michelle Obama.

“California cooperates with ICE when it comes to REMOVING CRIMINALS – like sick rapists and murderers – in our state prisons,” the governor’s office wrote on X.

The California prison system, run by the California department of corrections and rehabilitation (CDCR), does cooperate with ICE in limited circumstances. Under state law, CDCR may notify ICE and transfer custody when people with certain serious or violent felony convictions complete their sentences. Normally, when someone’s release date is approaching, CDCR contacts ICE to determine whether the agency intends to take custody. If the person is a noncitizen and ICE has not issued a detainer, CDCR still notifies federal immigration authorities ahead of the inmate’s release.

The most recent data from CDCR shows that in 2025, ICE picked up more than 88% of the people for whom it issued detainers while they were in state prison.

While California has long handed over convicted criminals who have served their sentence to ICE, California state law sharply restricts any cooperation between federal immigration enforcement and county jails, where people who have not been convicted yet are being held.

Accessing jails has long been a goal for Trump officials seeking to increase deportation numbers. In Minnesota, for example, Tom Homan, the president’s border czar, has routinely pushed sheriffs to transfer people from jails to federal custody during the ongoing immigration crackdown. Homan said this week that more counties are pledging to work with the agency, since state law there allows sheriffs to decide the level of collaboration.

Neither state prisons nor jails are permitted to hold someone past their scheduled release date – a common ask by federal immigration agents.

It’s not clear what source the administration is using to claim there are more than 33,000 undocumented criminals in California’s prisons. In 2025, CDCR recorded only 1,641 ICE detainers for the more than 26,000 people released from custody.

Shrai Popat contributed reporting