Federal ICE agents launched raids in New York City early Tuesday as part of President Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
The agents hit at least three locations in the Bronx and took at least two people into custody, sources said.
“Arresting some criminal aliens this morning in NYC – thank you to the brave officers involved,” Noem wrote on X at about 6 a.m. Tuesday morning with pics of Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents preparing for the operation.
The Homeland Security Secretary thanked several federal agencies in her posts, as well as the NYPD’s Special Operations Division.
A police source said some NYPD members are part of the Homeland Security Investigations Task Force, which looks for those involved in criminal cases. Doing so is not a violation of NYPD policy of not getting involved in apprehending someone simply here illegally.
The NYPD assisted in detaining a man in the Bronx wanted in Colorado on two warrants in connection with a case involving charges for kidnapping, guns, extortion and more, sources said. One of the suspects taken into custody may be a Venezuelan gang member whose crew took over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, ABC News reported.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch dispatched a memo to all officers on Jan. 18, reminding them they can’t engage or assist with immigration enforcement or allow NYPD resources to be used for that purpose if there are no criminal allegations involved.
Noem put out a video of ICE agents taking at least one person into custody in the Bronx, who the secretary called “a dirtbag.”
“Criminal alien with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges is now in custody – thanks to @ICE,” she said. “Dirtbags like this will continue to be removed from our streets.”
President Trump has directed ICE agents to first zero in on migrants and illegal aliens who have been accused of committing crimes in the U.S.
The agency hasn’t given out any particulars about the detentions but have from time to time put out pictures of the more notorious criminal suspects.
“We are doing this right – doing exactly what President @realDonaldTrump promised the American people – making our streets safe,” Noem wrote on X.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York division and New York field office for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives confirmed on X Tuesday they were working with ICE and other federal law enforcement partners on “immigration enforcement efforts” in New York City, including the raids in the Bronx.
Similar raids have been conducted in Chicago, Newark and Maryland. Smaller scale ICE investigations took place in New York City last week, but weren’t publicized by federal agencies.
On Monday, ICE agents made 1,179 arrests across the country and detained 853 immigrants, the agency said.
Current ICE enforcement operations under Trump are similar to those during the Biden administration with one glaring difference: Under Trump, officers can now arrest people without legal status if they run across them while looking for migrants targeted for removal.
Under Joe Biden, such “collateral arrests” were banned.
As the detentions continue, ICE won’t be able to arrest undocumented New Yorkers facing criminal cases in state courthouses without a warrant, local court officials said.
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