Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) snared nearly 2,200 illegal migrants — including convicted murderers, rapists and drug traffickers — in a monthlong sweep across New York state, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Tuesday.
Agents nabbed 2,197 people between July 27 and Aug. 29 as part of “Operation Rotten Apple” — which Mullin noted was conducted “with no help” from either Mayor Zohran Mamdani or Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“Operation Rotten Apple did what sanctuary politicians in New York City and the state of New York refuse to do: made the Empire State safer,” Mullin said in a statement.
“We won’t let sanctuary politicians stand in our way. If you’re a state or local politician, your best bet is to cooperate with us so we can all make America safe again,” he added.
Those arrested include Bogdan Detrovich Gren, a Ukrainian national in the US illegally with criminal convictions for kidnapping, abduction resulting in death, criminal possession of a weapon, and murder, according to DHS.
Andreas Bernal Chiquito, an illegal migrant from Colombia, has past arrests for sexual conduct against a child and injuring a child less than 17.
Also taken into custody was Palvinder Singh, an illegal migrant from India who was convicted of rape in Germany; and Carlos Mendez-Acosta, a Venezuelan migrant convicted of rape, according to the feds.
Mamdani signed an executive order shortly after he assumed office in January reinforcing sanctuary protections against what he called “abusive immigration enforcement” by the Trump administration.
Hizzoner has since passed additional legislation making it harder for local law enforcement to cooperate with President Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown.
Up in Albany, Hochul successfully pushed through legislation preventing state cops from partnering with federal immigration authorities, and barring ICE agents from most public places like hospitals and parks.
According to DHS, those “radical sanctuary policies” resulted in more than 13,000 criminal aliens back onto New York streets.
“Democratic politicians in New York and elsewhere say that they care about public safety, but won’t let immigration law enforcement officers into their jails to take criminals into custody, instead they release them to their streets,” Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said.
“It makes no sense.”
