Since President Trump took office for his second term, sanctuary state New York has denied 16,070 detainer requests for illegal aliens with criminal charges and/or convictions, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported Monday.
“We enforce these laws with no help from Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul,” DHS said in a social media post providing analysis beginning with Pres. Trump’s 2025 inauguration:
“Since January 20, 2025, to October 8, 2026, New York has failed to honor 16,070 ICE detainers. There are 52,503 total criminal charges and convictions associated with the detainers that were not honored.”
That period covers 627 days, meaning that, under Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul’s sanctuary policies, her state denied an average of 25.6 DHS detainer requests for convicted or criminally-charged illegal aliens per day. The 52,503 total criminal charges and requests averages 83.7 per day.
“The Trump Administration is committed to protecting the American people in every city and every state, and we won’t let sanctuary politicians stand in our way,” DHS vowed in its post.
In a separate post, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned of the threat to public safety posed by Gov. Hochul’s anti-immigration law enforcement policies:
“Governor Hochul’s sanctuary policies have been a disaster for New York and the rest of the country. On her watch, illegal aliens have been allowed to roam the streets freely, and have even been released from custody despite ICE detainers. As a result, innocent Americans have been murdered, shot, stabbed, and raped by these illegal aliens in New York and other states.”
“@DHSgov condemns these reckless and evil sanctuary policies and demands that Governor Hochul and her fellow sanctuary politicians put a stop to this before any more innocent lives are lost,” Sec. Mullin wrote.
ICE agents are having to defend themselves from a surge in violent attacks, DHS noted last month:
“According to the latest data, there were 647 assaults against ICE from January 20, 2025 to September 20, 2026, compared to just 37 under the Biden Administration from January 20, 2021 to September 20, 2022. This marks an increase of 1,649%.”
The DHS revelations come amidst a controversy over last week’s shooting of Oscar Belgal, a violent criminal illegal alien, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. While the illegal alien was shot when he reportedly used his car to ram vehicles and endanger ICE officers in an attempt to escape detention, Gov. Hochul and Democrats have condemned and vilified the immigration law enforcement agency.
On Friday, DHS issued a press release debunking “numerous lies about the incident and ICE operations in the city” made by Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other “New York sanctuary politicians”:
“CLAIM: A New Yorker was shot by ICE agents in Marble Hill.
FACT: This ‘New Yorker’ is a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic.
CLAIM: The ICE agents wore construction vests and masks that concealed their faces. There was no reasonable way to identify them as ICE agents.
FACT: This illegal alien was the subject of a targeted enforcement action. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S.
CLAIM: They [ICE] sow chaos and terror across our country; that they have killed far more of our neighbors than they could ever have claimed to save. All they do is terrorize NYC.
FACT: This could not be further from the truth. In late August alone, ICE arrested 2,197 criminals in the Empire State between July 27 and August 29 through Operation Rotten Apple with NO help or acknowledgement from the Mayor or NYC officials. Illegal aliens arrested during this operation include murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug traffickers, and violent assailants.
CLAIM: ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe.
FACT: 7 out of the 10 safest cities in the U.S. cooperate with ICE. Every day, the men and women of ICE are keeping our communities safe by arresting terrorists, murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and drug traffickers. Since President Trump’s second term began, ICE has arrested nearly 12,000 gang members and over 2,236 known or suspected terrorists. ICE saves American lives every day by enforcing our nation’s laws.”
