California Governor Gavin Newsom has hit back at claims from top Trump administration officials that his state plans to release more than 33,000 undocumented criminals from prison. The dispute began after Stephen Miller and the Department of Homeland Security released statements making the allegation. Newsom's office called the claim a distraction, noting that California's prison system already works with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport individuals convicted of serious crimes.

Under state prison policy, officials can transfer people to ICE custody once they finish their sentences for certain high-level felonies. Recent data shows that ICE successfully picked up most people for whom it had issued a "detainer," a formal request for a local jail to hold a person for immigration agents. The administration's figure of 33,000 remains unverified, as state prison records only show 1,641 ICE detainers scheduled for release in 2025.