NEW YORK – White House Border Czar Tom Homan said he plans to increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in New York City.
New York City ICE operations
What we know:
Homan made the comments during an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
“I plan on being in New York City in the near future,” Homan said. “We’re going to do operations in New York City.”
Homan clarified that immigration officers are already performing operations in New York City, but that he plans to ramp up efforts.
The announcement comes months after a federal judge shut down plans to have ICE reopen an office at Rikers Island. The New York City Council sued Mayor Eric Adams after he signed an executive order allowing the move back in April, claiming that having agents at the facility could lead to civil rights violations. Adams’ administration plans to appeal the decision.
“We know in New York City me and Mayor Adams at one point to had and agreement to let ICE into Rikers Island so we can address the public safety, address the safety and security of that facility, but the City Council shut it down,” Homan said.
ICE had previously had an office at Rikers, but it was shut in 2014, after the City Council established sanctuary city laws, prohibiting the agency from having a foothold at the facility.
In the interview Tuesday, Homan pointed to New York’s sanctuary city laws, saying they were the reason for increased enforcement.
“We will increase the enforcement in New York City again because they’re a sanctuary city and we know we have an issue there with public safety.”
Big picture view:
The immigration crackdown in New York City is part of a nationwide effort that began shortly after Trump returned to office. Other cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., have seen spikes in ICE operations under the new administration, along with deployment of National Guard troops to crack down on protests against immigration enforcement.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration sent immigration agents into Charlotte, North Carolina.
By the numbers:
In October, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it had deported more than half a million undocumented immigrants since Trump took office in January. The department expects that number to climb to 600,000 by the end of his first year.
In New York City, ICE has issued more than 6,000 retainer requests to transfer undocumented immigrants into ICE custody, according to numbers DHS released in July.
What we don’t know:
It’s not clear when ICE would ramp up operations in the city, or by how much.
The Source: Information in this story is from a FOX News interview with Tom Homan, the Department of Homeland Security and previous FOX 5 NY reports.