A Mexican migrant convicted of assault, robbery, criminal possession of a firearm and physically injuring a family member was released from custody by New York City authorities — after the Department of Homeland Security lodged a detainer request.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials filed the detainer for Alonzo Reyes-Garcia, alias “Alberto Tellez,” on Oct. 30, requesting that Big Apple officials keep him in jail until the feds could take custody of him.
The Queens District Attorney’s Office had recently brought charges of misdemeanor assualt against Reyes-Garcia, but a judge ordered him to be put on supervised release, despite his past violent convictions.
“Federal detainers are not lodged with the Queens District Attorney’s Office,” a spokesperson responded in a statement. “Our office is not a custodial agency.”
The NYPD, which was the custodial agency, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Neither did the citys Department of Corrections.
“In this particular case, the Queens District Attorney’s Office sought bail of $10,000 but the judge ordered supervised release on the underlying case,” the rep added.
Queens DA Melinda Katz has instructed prosecutors to “exercise extreme caution” and “not get caught up in the label of [f]elonies [and] [m]isdemeanors” in cases involving illegal aliens in the past, according to internal records first reported by The Post last month.
Federal authorities listed Reyes-Garcia as having been convicted of third-degree robbery, third-degree assault, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree criminal contempt for disobeying a court order, second-degree aggravated harassment, and disorderly conduct.
“Sanctuary politicians in New York refused to honor ICE’s detainer and released this illegal alien back onto the streets, despite his criminal convictions for robbery, assault, and other violent crimes,” said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in a statement.
“American public servants should be dedicated to protecting American citizens, but these heartless sanctuary politicians are sacrificing safety for political power as they prioritize illegal aliens over hardworking Americans,” Mullin added.
“The Trump Administration will always put the American people first, and we will never stop targeting, arresting, and removing illegal aliens in order to make America safe again.”
A federal immigration judge issued a final order of removal for Reyes-Garcia on Oct. 31, 2006, only for him to re-enter the US at an unknown date and location, according to DHS officials.
As of fiscal year 2026, DHS estimates there are as many as 7.3 million illegal aliens present in the US.
New York City is a so-called “sanctuary” jurisdiction, where authorities do not cooperate with ICE agents.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, signed an executive order after taking office earlier this year mandating officials not honor ICE requests.
New York’s Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, also signed into law earlier this year a provision banning coordination between local cops and federal immigration authorities.
DHS has responded by issuing regular bulletins detailing the “Sanctuary Insanity” of New York and other jurisdictions.
Two days before the detainer was issued for Reyes-Garcia, a targeted enforcement operation in New York rounded up a half-dozen alleged gang members who were also in the US illegally.
Purported MS-13 gangbangers Jason Hernandez Aguilar and Jose Olbin Argueta Garcia were arrested following convictions for drug possession. Both had illegally entered the country and remained despite an immigration judge ordering Garcia’s removal in 2023.
“Gang violence tears families apart, destroys neighborhoods and forces law-abiding Americans to live in fear in their own communities,” said acting ICE Director David J. Venturella in a statement.
“No family should have to worry about their children, and no community should have to surrender its streets to violent criminals,” he added. “We’re taking these dangerous criminal illegal aliens off our streets to make American cities safer for everyone.”
