On Thursday, the Department of Justice sent requests to sheriffs in several major California counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, seeking lists of all inmates in their facilities who are not U.S. citizens.

According to a news release from the DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs, the requests also encompass the illegal immigrant’s charges or conviction, as well as their scheduled release dates.

“In recent years, the United States experienced an unprecedented scale of illegal alien invasions,” officials stated in the release. “A significant number of these illegal aliens have gone on to commit crimes on American soil, such as rapes, murders, and other violent offenses. Today’s data requests aim to help federal immigration authorities prioritize the removal of illegal aliens who have committed crimes after unlawfully entering the United States.”

Although every illegal immigrant by definition has violated federal law, the DOJ said those who go on to commit crimes after coming into the country illegally pose a heightened risk to the nation’s safety and security.

The requests come weeks after Border Czar Tom Homan, on Fox News’ “Kudlow,” vowed to “double down and triple down” on sanctuary cities that are obstructing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. 

“President [Donald] Trump made it clear two weeks ago, we are going to double down and triple down the sanctuary cities,” Homan said. “If we can’t arrest that bad guy in the jail, then we’ll go to the community and we’ll find him.”

Los Angeles is the largest and arguably most strident of America’s roughly 300 sanctuary cities. (Reuters)

Multiple lawsuits have been filed by the state against the Trump administration regarding immigration enforcement.

Most recently, the administration filed a request with the courts to suspend a temporary restraining order that was issued Friday against ICE after a Biden-appointed judge ruled the agency likely violated constitutional protections during raids in Los Angeles.