Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has made it clear that he places the protection of criminal aliens in the United States over the interests of U.S. citizens.

In a county where illegal immigration is commonplace, it’s a safe bet Villanueva’s reelection chances ride on it — the Los Angeles Times reported in 2017 that nearly 10% of the nation’s 11.1 million illegal immigrants reside in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

(The 11.1 million estimate representing the low bar, as some estimates are as high as 22 million.)

The Trump administration announced last week that Border Patrol tactical units will target 10 sanctuary cities around the nation that limit cooperation with immigration enforcement authorities.

“When sanctuary cities release these criminals back to the street, it increases the occurrence of preventable crimes, and more importantly, preventable victims,” said Acting ICE Director Matthew Albence, in a statement.

In addition to Los Angeles, the other cities reportedly include New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, New Orleans, Detroit and Newark.

And while this effort does not require any assistance from Villanueva, the sheriff saw fit to publicly oppose it while bringing politics into play.

“We cannot allow the federal government to weaponize our immigration system for partisan politics,” he said in a release. “This poorly thought out plan can only be seen as a tactic to intimidate an already vulnerable population and drive them deeper into the shadows.”

Please refer to my statement below regarding the deployment of Border Patrol Tactical Units to so called sanctuary cities. I strongly oppose this irresponsible deployment of federal SWAT agents in @CountyofLA for civil immigration enforcement.https://t.co/4p4WQdgJme pic.twitter.com/z2SW8iGqTw — Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff) February 14, 2020

If only the sheriff had this much concern for Americans being victimized by those in the country illegally.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti took the extraordinary step of counseling criminal aliens on how to dodge immigration authorities.

“Regardless of your immigration status, I want every Angeleno to know your city is on your side. Here in Los Angeles, our police department does not coordinate with ICE or participate in immigration enforcement,” the mayor tweeted, including a link to tips on avoiding contact with federal authorities.

Regardless of your immigration status, I want every Angeleno to know your city is on your side. Here in Los Angeles, our police department does not coordinate with ICE or participate in immigration enforcement. Know your rights: https://t.co/2zfY8lUAyn pic.twitter.com/nYf1fXhBnU — Mayor Eric Garcetti (@MayorOfLA) February 15, 2020

This would be stunning, but for a complicit media that buoys the Democratic Party and its hard left views.

In his statement, Villanueva fell back on Democratic talking points to claim “an entire segment of our population is afraid to report crimes to local law enforcement” should our immigration laws be enforced.

Lost in the mix are the thousands of American victims of preventable crimes.

At the State of the Union address earlier this month, President Donald Trump noted that “countless Americans are murdered by criminal illegal aliens.”

The president’s guests that night included the family of a Nevada couple killed by an illegal immigrant.

“Not one more American life should be lost because our nation failed to control its very dangerous border,” he said. “In the last two years, our brave ICE officers made 266,000 arrests of criminal aliens, including those charged or convicted of nearly 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 killings.”

The liberal media response is to frequently claim that illegal immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than U.S. citizens, ignoring the fact that crimes committed by those in the country illegally are preventable crimes.

To families who have lost ones, the crimes of one illegal immigrant is one too many.

Editor’s Note: LAPD Chief Michael Moore was mistakenly identified as Orange County Sheriff Alex Villanueva in the initial text of the article. The article has been updated to correct this.