New York City is going to get more of what its left-wing politicians do not want, border czar Tom Homan says.
Homan is pledging to send more federal immigration officers to “sanctuary cities,” he explained, because arresting an illegal alien already in custody is much safer for law enforcement, the community, and the illegal immigrants themselves.
“Sanctuary cities get exactly what they don’t want—more agents in the community [and] more agents in the worksite[s],” he said.
“Sanctuary cities are now our priority,” the border czar said, adding that “sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals. President [Donald] Trump is not going to tolerate it, and I’ll work every day with [Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem] to make sure we get as many bad guys, illegal aliens, out of this country that we can.”
If sanctuary cities such as New York refuse to cooperate and continue to release criminal illegal aliens onto the streets of the city, Homan says, federal officers will “flood the zone.”
Homan’s comments, made at a press conference in New York on Monday, followed the shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer over the weekend in what is thought to have been an attempted robbery.
The officer and a female friend were sitting by the water in Fort Washington Park under the George Washington Bridge when two men drove a scooter near to them and stopped. One of the two men approached with a drawn firearm, and the CBP officer drew his own firearm in self-defense. The officer was shot in the face and arm. The DHS has since confirmed that both of the assailants involved in the shooting are criminal illegal aliens.
Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, from the Dominican Republic, entered the U.S. illegally during the Joe Biden administration and was “arrested four different times in New York City,” Noem said during the press conference Monday. The charges against Nunez include grand larceny, assault, and kidnapping. In Massachusetts, there is a warrant for Nunez’s arrest for armed robbery with a firearm.
“There’s absolutely zero reason that someone who is scum of the earth like this should be running loose on the streets of New York City,” Noem said, before criticizing New York City Mayor Eric Adams for maintaining sanctuary city policies in the Big Apple.
“Make no mistake, this officer is in the hospital today, fighting for his life, because of policies of the mayor of this city and the City Council,” Noem said.
New York City is a sanctuary city, meaning local law enforcement don’t comply with requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to turn illegal aliens over to them after the migrants are released from custody following an arrest.
Homan says he isn’t asking the NYPD to be immigration officers. “We’re asking them to help us,” he said.
Adams‘ office did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
Nunez crossed the border illegally in April 2023 and was released into the interior of the U.S. A judge issued Nunez a final order of removal in November 2024 after he failed to appear for his immigration hearing.
Nunez was injured during the purported attempted robbery and was taken into custody when he sought medical attention. Cristian Aybar Berroa, the other illegal alien suspect in the incident, has also been apprehended, DHS announced Monday.
Berroa, also from the Dominican Republic, entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, according to the DHS. He has been arrested multiple times in New York City, including for second-degree reckless endangerment, fourth-degree felony grand larceny, and driving without a license. A judge ordered Berroa removed from the U.S. in January 2023.
Trump reacted to the news of the shooting on Truth Social on Sunday, writing that the “CBP Officer bravely fought off his attacker, despite his wounds, demonstrating enormous Skill and Courage.”
Trump added that “Democrats have flooded our Nation with Criminal Invaders, and now, they must all be thrown out or, in some cases, immediately prosecuted in that we cannot take a chance that they are able to come back. That’s how evil and dangerous they are!”