Federal immigration officials say New York jurisdictions have declined more than 16,000 requests to hold noncitizens for deportation proceedings since President Donald Trump returned to office, intensifying a dispute with Gov. Kathy Hochul over immigration enforcement, criminal justice and the state’s restrictions on cooperation with ICE.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
NEW YORK — New York law enforcement agencies have declined 16,070 federal immigration detainers involving noncitizens associated with 52,503 criminal charges or convictions since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, according to Department of Homeland Security data released Monday, Oct. 12.
The figures include thousands of criminal allegations involving assault, robbery, sexual offenses and other serious crimes, prompting federal officials to accuse New York’s state and local governments of obstructing immigration enforcement and allowing potentially dangerous individuals to return to their communities.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration disputed that characterization, maintaining that New York continues to cooperate with federal authorities in criminal matters and transfers noncitizens from state prisons to immigration custody when required by law.
The latest disagreement comes amid heightened tensions between the Trump administration and New York officials following a controversial immigration enforcement operation in the Bronx last week in which federal agents shot and wounded a Dominican national during an attempted arrest.
According to Department of Homeland Security figures obtained by the New York Post, rejected immigration detainers involved individuals associated with 131 homicide counts, 132 kidnapping counts, 1,017 sexual offenses and 9,502 assaults.
The federal data also identified 1,776 robbery counts, 1,631 burglaries, 2,198 weapons offenses, 1,561 driving-under-the-influence offenses and 4,324 drug-related counts.
Those numbers represent criminal charges or convictions attributed to individuals associated with the detainers, not necessarily separate people or crimes committed after their release. The available reporting does not establish how many of the 52,503 counts resulted in convictions, how many remained pending or how many individuals were ultimately released rather than transferred to other custodial arrangements.
Federal officials nevertheless argue that New York’s restrictions make it more difficult to take custody of noncitizens who may be subject to deportation and who have been arrested or convicted for serious offenses.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the state’s policies, saying federal immigration officers must conduct additional enforcement operations when local jurisdictions decline to cooperate.
“While sanctuary politicians continue to release dangerous criminals onto their streets, our brave law enforcement officers will continue to risk their lives to arrest these heinous criminals and make America safe again. Illegal aliens have no sanctuary in America,” Mullin told the Post.
“We enforce these laws with no help from Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul. 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.”
The secretary’s comments reflect the administration’s broader position that local cooperation is essential to identifying and removing noncitizens with serious criminal histories.
Federal officials maintain that transferring individuals directly from local custody to Immigration and Customs Enforcement reduces the need for agents to locate and arrest them in public settings, where encounters can become more dangerous for officers, suspects and bystanders.
Under federal procedures, an ICE detainer is a request asking a jail or other law enforcement agency to notify immigration authorities before releasing a person and, when applicable, maintain custody for up to 48 additional hours so federal agents can assume responsibility.
The ICE explanation of immigration detainer procedures states that detainers are requests rather than mandatory orders requiring compliance by state or local governments.
The distinction has become central to legal disputes over immigration enforcement because local agencies operate under state laws and constitutional restrictions governing detention.
Federal immigration authorities can request cooperation, but a detainer does not automatically authorize local officials to hold someone indefinitely or require a jurisdiction to perform federal civil immigration enforcement.
In some cases, local authorities may decline an ICE request because the individual has completed a criminal sentence, posted bail or is otherwise entitled to release under applicable law.
A refusal to honor an immigration detainer also does not necessarily mean that a person was released despite an outstanding criminal sentence or that local officials disregarded a judicial warrant.
New York officials have cited those distinctions in defending state policies intended to separate ordinary policing from federal civil immigration enforcement.
The dispute intensified after Hochul signed the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, legislation restricting agreements that allow state and local police to perform certain federal immigration enforcement functions.
Although the governor’s political opponents have linked the law to the latest detainer statistics, the reported figures cover a period beginning in January 2025, more than a year before the legislation took effect.
The law was signed on May 27, 2026, and its principal restrictions on federal immigration enforcement agreements took effect Aug. 25.
According to the New York Attorney General’s official explanation of the legislation, the measure prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from entering into or maintaining agreements under Section 287(g) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.
Those agreements allow designated local officers to perform certain immigration enforcement responsibilities under federal supervision.
The legislation also restricts contracts under which local detention facilities house individuals solely for federal civil immigration purposes.
State officials argue that limiting those arrangements allows police departments to concentrate personnel and resources on investigating crimes, responding to emergencies and maintaining relationships with their communities.
The measure does not prohibit cooperation with federal authorities in criminal investigations, nor does it eliminate federal agencies’ authority to enforce immigration law independently within New York.
Hochul’s administration has repeatedly emphasized those distinctions while rejecting claims that the state protects individuals convicted of violent crimes from federal authorities.
The governor’s spokeswoman, Alexia Nizhny, challenged the latest DHS figures and the implication that New York routinely releases violent offenders without consequences.
“New York State is not and never will be a sanctuary for violent criminals,” Nizhny told the Post.
She said state law requires notification to federal immigration authorities when noncitizens serving sentences in New York state prisons become eligible for transfer or release.
According to the governor’s office, approximately 2,000 individuals held in state correctional facilities have been transferred to federal immigration enforcement custody during Trump’s second administration.
The administration maintains that those transfers demonstrate continued cooperation involving incarcerated individuals despite the state’s restrictions on civil immigration enforcement partnerships.
Nizhny also accused DHS of presenting its data in a misleading manner to divert attention from federal enforcement tactics.
She described the figures as “a blatant mischaracterization of the facts meant to distract from the cruelty and violence we saw from Secretary Mullin’s ICE agents earlier this week.”
Her criticism referred to the Oct. 8 shooting of Oscar Belgal during a federal immigration operation in New York City.
The incident occurred in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx when ICE agents attempted to apprehend Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national whom federal officials identified as a target of a planned enforcement operation.
According to DHS, Belgal refused instructions to leave his vehicle and attempted to escape, striking two government vehicles before accelerating toward officers.
Federal agents opened fire, wounding him while his 5-year-old son was inside the vehicle.
The child was not physically injured.
DHS officials said Belgal had previous criminal convictions and pending charges and was suspected of having connections to the Trinitarios gang.
Those allegations have been disputed in part by Belgal’s legal representatives, who have questioned the government’s account of the encounter and the conduct of the officers involved.
The Associated Press examination of video footage from the shooting found that the confrontation unfolded rapidly after plainclothes federal officers approached Belgal’s vehicle with their weapons drawn.
The footage and statements from witnesses raised questions about the sequence of events, including when officers fired and whether Belgal’s actions presented an immediate threat at that moment.
Federal officials maintain that the agents acted in response to dangerous vehicle maneuvers and that they did not know a child was present.
The New York Police Department reported that seven shots were fired during the incident, while the Bronx District Attorney’s Office opened an investigation into the shooting.
Belgal suffered a neck injury and subsequently remained in federal custody. His attorneys challenged his detention and sought judicial intervention to prevent his immediate removal from the United States.
The incident prompted strong criticism from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both of whom questioned the necessity and safety of the operation.
Mamdani condemned the use of force and called for federal immigration agents to end operations that he said endangered New York residents.
Ocasio-Cortez similarly criticized the tactics used during the arrest attempt, characterizing the administration’s enforcement approach as excessively militarized.
The Reuters account of the shooting and political reaction documented the competing statements from federal officials and city leaders, including concerns about the child who witnessed the encounter.
Federal authorities have defended the operation as an example of the dangers agents face when attempting to arrest individuals who are not transferred directly from local custody.
Mullin and other administration officials have argued that restrictions on immigration detainers can force agents into encounters outside correctional facilities, creating greater risks for everyone involved.
New York officials dispute that reasoning, maintaining that federal agents remain responsible for planning safe operations and complying with established legal standards regardless of local cooperation policies.
The shooting has consequently become a focal point in the wider disagreement over immigration enforcement, with federal authorities citing the suspect’s criminal history and state officials emphasizing the tactics used during his apprehension.
The controversy followed another incident involving the stabbing of a New York Police Department detective, which federal officials also cited in criticizing the state’s immigration policies.
Mullin accused Hochul of failing to respond adequately after Detective Jose Mercedes was reportedly attacked by two noncitizens with criminal histories.
The New York Post reported Sunday on Mullin’s criticism, which came as the governor publicly condemned the Bronx shooting.
The governor’s office rejected the accusation, pointing to the state’s law enforcement funding and public safety initiatives.
Those incidents have intensified an already contentious debate between federal and state authorities over the responsibilities of local police departments when interacting with immigration enforcement agencies.
The Trump administration has significantly expanded its use of federal immigration resources since returning to office, including additional enforcement operations and efforts to increase cooperation with state and local agencies.
Under Section 287(g), participating jurisdictions can authorize trained officers to perform certain immigration functions, including identifying individuals potentially subject to removal.
The administration has promoted those agreements as an effective way to locate noncitizens with criminal records and reduce the need for separate federal enforcement operations.
New York’s new law takes the opposite approach by prohibiting local participation in those formal immigration partnerships.
Attorney General Letitia James established an Office of Immigrant Trust to enforce the restrictions and investigate potential violations by state and local entities.
In July, the attorney general’s office notified 12 New York law enforcement agencies that they were required to terminate existing 287(g) agreements by Aug. 25.
The agencies were warned that remaining in such arrangements could violate state law.
The restrictions subsequently produced legal challenges from county sheriffs who argued that the state was improperly limiting their ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Fifteen county sheriffs filed a lawsuit challenging the law, prompting Hochul and James to defend the legislation publicly.
In an August statement responding to the lawsuit, the governor and attorney general argued that local police resources should be directed toward preventing and investigating crimes rather than enforcing federal civil immigration rules.
They also maintained that public trust is essential to effective policing, particularly in communities where residents may be reluctant to report crimes if they fear immigration consequences.
That argument has been central to so-called sanctuary policies adopted by various cities and states.
Supporters contend that separating local policing from civil immigration enforcement encourages victims and witnesses to cooperate with authorities, regardless of immigration status.
They argue that individuals who fear deportation may hesitate to report violent crimes, domestic abuse or other offenses, potentially making investigations more difficult.
Critics counter that limiting cooperation can result in the release of noncitizens whom federal authorities seek to deport, requiring additional enforcement operations and potentially exposing communities to avoidable risks.
The disagreement reflects different priorities concerning federal immigration enforcement and the role of state and local agencies.
The latest DHS statistics have become particularly contentious because the federal government describes rejected detainers alongside a large number of criminal counts.
The figures do not, however, establish a direct relationship between each declined detainer and a subsequent crime.
An individual may have multiple criminal charges associated with a single arrest or several cases, while some offenses may have occurred years before ICE issued a detainer.
Likewise, a person charged with an offense has not necessarily been convicted, and the reported data do not identify how many individuals associated with the detainers were later arrested by federal authorities.
The publicly reported figures also do not provide a comprehensive breakdown of which jurisdictions declined the requests or their reasons for doing so.
Those limitations are important when evaluating claims about the public safety consequences of New York’s policies.
Determining the effects would require additional information about individual cases, release decisions, subsequent arrests and the availability of federal warrants or other lawful means of transferring custody.
The DHS totals nevertheless provide a measure of the extent of the disagreement between federal immigration authorities and participating New York jurisdictions.
More than 16,000 declined detainers over approximately 21 months indicate repeated instances in which local officials did not provide the additional detention requested by ICE.
Federal officials argue that those decisions interfere with efforts to remove noncitizens who may present risks to public safety.
State officials maintain that immigration detainers are voluntary civil requests and that their agencies must follow applicable legal restrictions while continuing to enforce criminal laws.
The conflict also has political significance because it involves prominent Democratic officials who have publicly opposed the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Hochul has criticized federal enforcement operations while emphasizing her administration’s commitment to public safety.
Mamdani has called for changes to ICE operations in New York City, while Ocasio-Cortez has questioned the agency’s tactics and the scope of federal immigration enforcement.
Mullin has repeatedly challenged those officials, arguing that their policies make it more difficult for immigration authorities to apprehend individuals with serious criminal histories.
The competing positions have become increasingly visible as the November congressional elections approach, with immigration enforcement and public safety remaining central issues in national political debate.
For now, the federal government continues conducting immigration operations in New York despite restrictions on formal cooperation with local agencies.
The state’s correctional system also continues transferring eligible noncitizens to federal custody under established procedures, according to Hochul’s administration.
The disagreement is therefore not over whether ICE may operate in New York, but over when state and local authorities must assist federal officers and whether additional detention based on civil immigration requests is legally appropriate.
The administration’s latest figures have intensified scrutiny of that distinction while highlighting the need to separate criminal charges, convictions and immigration enforcement decisions.
As of Monday, DHS had reported 16,070 rejected detainers associated with 52,503 criminal counts since January 2025. New York officials disputed the federal government’s interpretation and pointed to approximately 2,000 transfers from state custody as evidence of continued cooperation.
With the Bronx shooting under investigation and legal challenges to the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act continuing, the confrontation over immigration detainers remains unresolved.
The competing claims illustrate a broader national dispute over federal immigration authority, local policing responsibilities and the measures governments should use to protect public safety while complying with constitutional and statutory limits.
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