Los Angeles County sheriffs set up a barricade as riots were underway in Compton, Calif., on June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
"California Republicans had a solution in our Senate Bill 554, but the sanctuary city crowd brought this on themselves by prohibiting state and local law enforcement from cooperating with the feds to identify violent illegal immigrants in prisons and jails," Jones said.
SB 554 would have adjusted existing California law under the California Values Act, which generally prohibits state law enforcement from investigating, detaining or questioning suspects for immigration-related purposes.
Instead, the bill, which Jones said Democrats had tanked, would have allowed for improved communication with federal immigration and law enforcement agencies.
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"Now the feds have to run broader raids, like what we’re seeing in LA, which sweep up way more people," Jones said.
"This whole thing was easily preventable."
Just north of Jones’ hometown, he said the ICE raids that occurred leading up to the unrest were characterized by an increase in "collateral arrests," a term used to describe illegal immigrants not specifically targeted by the feds in any particular operation who are also detained.
That has happened, he said, because state and local authorities hadn’t handed over some of the targeted suspects in the first place.
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Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared to blame President Donald Trump for the unrest, saying it is "exactly what [he] wanted."
"He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard."
Fox News Digital reached out to California Senate President Pro-Tempore Mike McGuire, R-Healdsburg, for response to Republicans’ comments.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/la-immigration-riots-preventable-sacramento-dems-had-acted