The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Friday, November 13, 2026, that San Diego Central Jail released a man it describes as an admitted active member of the Logan Heights Gang, even though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had lodged a detainer asking the jail not to release him. DHS says the man, Julio Cesar Vazquez Hernandez, remains at large.
Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security
According to the DHS statement, ICE lodged the detainer on November 5, after Vazquez Hernandez, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested by the San Diego County Sheriff's Office for domestic violence involving the violation of a restraining order. DHS says he entered the United States at an unknown date and location. Every detail of his history in the statement is the department's own account, and independent reporting on the release notes that DHS's allegations were not independently verified.
What DHS says about his record
DHS says Vazquez Hernandez's criminal history includes a conviction for driving under the influence and prior arrests for participating in a criminal street gang, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and theft. The department says he has admitted to being an active member of the Logan Heights Gang, a San Diego-area gang. These are arrests and department allegations described in the DHS release; the release does not set out court outcomes for each prior arrest, and Awaaz Punjab is reporting them as DHS's account, not as proven findings.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the statement: “Time and time again, sanctuary politicians openly and recklessly choose to endanger their constituents by releasing illegal aliens into their communities.” Mullin said that despite the ICE detainer, San Diego officials released “this illegal alien gang member from Mexico whose criminal history includes domestic violence, driving under the influence, and assault with a deadly weapon,” and argued communities would be safer if local officials worked with ICE. The DHS release did not include a response from the San Diego County Sheriff's Office or the county.
A detainer is a written request from ICE asking a local jail to notify immigration officers before releasing a person and, in many cases, to hold the person for a short period so ICE can take custody. California's sanctuary-state framework limits when and how local jails cooperate with those requests — the policy fight at the centre of this case. Whether a jail honours a detainer is a policy and legal decision by the local authority, not a court order.
A long list of other cases in the same release
The San Diego case was the headline of a much longer DHS statement attacking California's sanctuary policies and Governor Gavin Newsom. The department listed case after case it ties to those policies, including several involving Indian nationals and commercial driver's licences (CDLs) that matter directly to Punjabi truckers and families in California.
Among the cases DHS listed: in September, ICE lodged a detainer for Chamkaur Singh, a citizen of India, after his arrest over a semi-truck crash that killed two people in Ontario, California — DHS says California's DMV had granted him a CDL. In May, ICE lodged a detainer for Manvir Singh, also from India, after an arrest over a semi-truck crash that killed two people near Lodi. Also in May, ICE arrested Aman Kumar, from India, who DHS says had been released in California after a hit-and-run that injured a 4-year-old boy in Fresno. And DHS pointed to Partap Singh, from India, who it says caused a multi-car pileup while driving an 18-wheeler in San Bernardino County in June 2024, seriously injuring 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman and several others, after receiving a California CDL.
DHS also said California-linked licensing and releases had consequences in other states, listing cases in Florida, Oregon, Nebraska, Utah, Ohio and Indiana. All of those examples are presented by DHS as part of its argument against sanctuary policies; the department's characterisation of California policy is contested by the state's supporters, who argue the limits protect community trust in local police.
What is solid
- DHS published the statement on November 13, 2026, naming Julio Cesar Vazquez Hernandez and the November 5 detainer.
- DHS says San Diego Central Jail released him despite the detainer and that he remains at large.
- Independent reporting on the release (The Right Ledger) summarised the same DHS claims.
What is only claimed
- Vazquez Hernandez's gang membership, criminal history and the reasons for the release are DHS's allegations and characterisations; the release does not independently verify them, and no San Diego County response was included in it.
Why this matters in San Diego and beyond
San Diego County sits on the U.S.-Mexico border and its central jail handles arrests from across the county, including large immigrant communities. Fights over ICE detainers decide, in practice, whether a person arrested locally is handed to federal immigration officers or released when the local case allows it. For immigrant families — including Punjabi families in California — the difference determines whether a local arrest becomes a deportation case.
What happens next
On DHS's account, Vazquez Hernandez is at large, which means ICE officers would have to locate and arrest him themselves rather than taking him from the jail. DHS gave no date for the release itself, no court date for the underlying domestic-violence arrest, and no statement from San Diego County in its release. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if the Sheriff's Office or the county responds, or if ICE announces an arrest.
Source: The Right Ledger