Malliotakis, ICE Director & Council Members Call for NYC to Comply with Deportation of Criminals

(NEW YORK, NY) – Following the arrest of hundreds of migrants for murder, stabbings, robberies, and the assault of multiple police officers, including two in Times Square by a mob of migrants, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, Councilman Bob Holden, Councilman Joe Borelli along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and colleagues from the City Council today called on Mayor Adams and the City Council to restore cooperation with ICE.

In 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed Introductions 486-A and 487-A into law, dramatically limiting New York City’s cooperation with federal immigration officials. In 2018, de Blasio issued citywide guidance and new NYPD protocols to codify the City’s policy of not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement activities, pursuant to Local Law 228 of 2017. 

"Despite the city's attempts to play semantics, the reality is they're refusing to cooperate with federal detainer and deportation requests with administrative warrants from ICE, even as hundreds of migrants continue to be arrested for murder, stabbings, robberies, and assault across the city," Congresswoman Malliotakis said. "We're standing here today as a bipartisan group of elected officials to say thugs who pay the cartels thousands of dollars to be smuggled into our country and then proceed to commit crimes in our city should be arrested, detained, and deported immediately, and have any future immigration applications denied. Instead, thanks to New York’s ridiculous policies, they are wreaking havoc on our city, being arrested and released, only to return to the comfort of their luxury hotel rooms at taxpayer expense. It’s ludicrous."

Last year, ICE issued 109 detainer requests to the NYPD, all of which were not honored due to local laws preventing them from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement activities. City officials have claimed to be cooperative with ICE detainer requests, however, the city will not accept anything other than a judicial warrant, whereas ICE uses administrative warrants for this process. 

"We're here to protect the community," said Ken Genalo, NYC Field Office Director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. "We want to assist, we want to help. The problem is due to City policies and state law, the cooperation is no longer afforded between NYPD, the law enforcement partners, and ICE. Unfortunately, a lot of the way we have to do our intelligence in ICE is the same way you find out about it - it's through the media. We're no longer contacted, we're no longer called, and we have to check our databases, but obviously there's hundreds of people a week that are being arrested throughout the city. If we can't determine which one is being the most violent, we have to find out through the media, through the newspapers, through the acts of television outlets. That alerts us to start digging even deeper...Without having our detainers honored and the subjects returned directly back into the community, there's a lot of recidivism. Obviously, once they're back in the community, we have to then go look for them. The public safety factor for the community increases, but on top of it - also for my staff and my offices. Instead of being able to take custody of these individuals in the confines of a jail or a precinct, we now have to go out into the community - in the streets - where the criminals have the upper hand." 

"In 1989, New York City enacted an Executive Order making it the first of many different changes in law that gave more rights and privileges and liberties to people who have come here in violation of our immigration law," said City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli, Co-Chair of the Common-Sense Caucus. "That was met with subsequent laws in 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2022. That's matched at the state level - multiple laws, multiple years. All this collectively is what we commonly call our sanctuary city policy. The thing that unites all of those things is that they're brought to us and sponsored by the Democratic party of New York State and those politicians...We hear prominent Democrats in New York State that are just completely confused, completely befuddled at how people who are here without the proper immigration status can assault police officers and get on a bus and go to California...They're ignoring the fact that they have been the enablers on this sanctuary city policy that got us here this very day...Voters need to think long and hard before they choose the next leaders at the city and state level because this is unsustainable, and even they now admit we need a change of these policies." 

"I am a Democrat but I don't agree with the sanctuary city policies - doesn't make any sense whatsoever," said Councilman Bob Holden, Co-Chair of the Common-Sense Caucus. "When you have police officers attacked, you have citizens attacked on a regular basis, do we need more criminals? We have to import them, then protect them? That's ridiculous. It needs to stop. The Common-Sense Caucus that I co-chair and co-founded with Joe Borelli - there's three Democrats and we're all committed to overturning some of these laws that are protecting criminals...How in the world do we have to protect them and then pay for their legal fees and let them go without bail so they can flee? It's not good policy, obviously. A sanctuary city should not mean protecting criminals. Let's stop right away and let's change this." 

"We're in the vicinity of where the heinous attacks of our police officers took place," said Councilman David Carr. "I want to be clear - criminal violence anywhere, perpetrated against anyone is a travesty, but you're made to realize how bad it is when those who serve and protect in uniform, and do all they can to make the people of this city safe, are being assaulted. It's made to seem even worse when you realize it could've been prevented. We didn't need to have an open border where people could come and go without being vetted, without being properly admitted. We didn't need to have 'Right to Shelter' inappropriately applied universally, creating a tremendous incentive for people to come here. We didn't need to have sanctuary city laws which give aid and comfort to people whose first act upon entering this country was to violate our nations borders and to break our laws. People who commit crimes need to face consequences, and that includes people who have come from other countries...These individuals need to be brought to trial and they need to be deported." 

"We have no knowledge of who these people are, what their backgrounds are, and now they are free to assault our cops," said Councilwoman Vickie Paladino. "Our City Council, what they did last week to our cops - we watched them once again tie up our cops. ICE has got to do their job. These people need to be deported, these people need to be arrested. Kathy Hochul has the power at the state level to do what needs to be done and untie ICE. We watched the de Blasio Administration singlehandedly bring down this city. Mayor Adams' door is open, his ears are open, he's willing to take meetings. Good for him - but go to the state head because you can't kill the snake unless you cut the head off." 

"It is becoming increasingly clear to everyone living in this city that there are bad actors embedding themselves in the migrant population, and these bad actors are taking advantage of our lax laws to benefit themselves and commit crimes against New Yorkers," said Councilwoman Joann Ariola. "We need to reverse the politically motivated decision by the former mayoral administration, and restore cooperation with ICE before anyone else gets hurt. When criminals are becoming so brazen that even police officers become fair game, it is proof that things have gone too far. Let’s finally allow common sense to have a part in our governance, and allow ICE to do their jobs and deport dangerous criminals before more New Yorkers become statistics."

WATCH MALLIOTAKIS' PRESS CONFERENCE HERE

Malliotakis is an original cosponsor of H.R. 2494, The POLICE Act of 2023, legislation that makes assaulting a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or other first responder a deportable offense.