SACRAMENTO—California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said the state Supreme Court chambers were flooded with calls from “profane and very angry people” after she asked federal officials in March to stop arresting undocumented immigrants in state courthouses.

“And I received a lot of letters that said, 'This is not your job … You shouldn't be involved in politics. You're just a judge who should interpret the law.'” Tani Cantil-Sakauye said Thursday in remarks at the Sacramento Press Club.

The chief justice's letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Homeland Security John Kelly accused federal agents of “stalking undocumented immigrants in our courthouses” and instilling fear in people who are summoned to court. Sessions and Kelly responded with their own letter two weeks later, criticizing Cantil-Sakauye's use of the word “stalking” and insisting that the courthouse arrests would continue because state leaders had blocked immigration agents' work in other locations, including prisons and jails.