Earlier this week, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in a press release that they arrested five illegal aliens from four different countries, including an Indian national wanted for assault and sexual abuse, after New York City refused to cooperate federal immigration law.
New York City is a sanctuary city, meaning that they do not demand their police department cooperate with federal immigration laws nor requests from immigration officials, particularly on orders such as “detainers.”
“Detainers serve as a legally-authorized request, upon which a law enforcement agency may rely, to continue to maintain custody of an alien for up to 48 hours so that ICE may assume custody for removal purposes,” according to the October 18 press release. But some cities simply "catch and release" these criminals in hopes of promoting cooperation between the city and the illegal alien community.
In fact, Mayor Bill De Blasio orders that the New York City Police Department routinely ignore these requests. De Blasio officials have said that their sanctuary city policies promote public safety.
“Being a sanctuary city does not mean that you are out of compliance or trying to violate federal law in any way,” Nisha Agarwal, New York CIty commissioner for immigrant affairs, said in a New York Times interview. “We can promote policies and programs that are supportive of immigrant communities and protect public safety.”
Though it is unclear whether this policy promotes any cooperation, it is endangering citizens of New York.
Just this week, ICE arrested five illegal aliens who had previously committed other crimes after New York City refused to hand them over to federal authority. One of those illegal immigrants is Gurnham Signh, a citizen of India who has previously been arrested four times.
The press release notes, “On Dec. 26, 2016, Singh was arrested by the New York City Police for misdemeanor charges. He was later released on his own recognizance. Days later, he was arrested again by NYPD on charges of criminal contempt. He was released on bond Jan. 11, from the New York City Department of Corrections (NYDOC).
On June 15, Singh was again arrested by NYPD for criminal contempt, assault, criminal mischief and harassment. He was arraigned on June 21, in Queens Criminal Court, on local charges, and subsequently released from custody on bond.
As a result of New York City legislation, which closed the ICE Criminal Alien Program office on Rikers Island, he was never encountered and/or interviewed by deportation officers at any point. On Sept. 6, Singh was again arrested on local charges. On the same day, deportation officers lodged an immigration detainer and warrant of arrest with the Queens Central Booking, which ultimately went unanswered”
Singh “has pending charges for assault, forcible touching, sexual abuse and harassment.” But he is not alone.
ICE also arrested Ecuadorian citizen Marco Freiire, Jamaican citizen Steven Anthony Beswick, and Mexican nationals Omar Castro and Jonathan Aparici just this week as well.
All of these men are illegal aliens and all have been arrested for various degrees of drug possession or violence in the past. But, NYPD has never reported them to authorities. In their desire to appear politically correct, De Blasio’s administration is allowing criminals to roam the streets.
“ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members,” but this becomes difficult when cities refuse to cooperate. So ICE takes matters into their own hands and tracks and arrests these aliens themselves.
It should be noted that “ ICE arrests comprise over 70 percent convicted criminals. Of the remaining individuals not convicted of a crime, approximately 70 percent have either been charged with a crime, are an immigration fugitive, or have been removed from the United States and illegally re-entered – reflecting the agency’s continued prioritization of its limited enforcement resources on aliens who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security.”
"At-large criminal alien arrests are among the most dangerous types of enforcement actions ICE officers are engaged in on a daily basis. These arrests also represent the greatest risk to the community. This level of unnecessary risk can be mitigated in many instances,” said Thomas R. Decker, field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations New York. “As Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan has made clear, ICE will continue to dedicate more resources to conduct at-large arrests to ensure the safety of the law-abiding citizens of these communities.”