16,000 ICE Detainers Blocked by New York, Migrants Tied to 52,000 Crimes
October 13, 2026 · Frisian News
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
New York authorities have refused 16,070 ICE detainer requests since January 2025, covering migrants connected to 52,503 criminal charges and convictions including 131 homicides and 132 kidnappings, Department of Homeland Security figures show.
New York authorities have refused 16,070 ICE detainer requests since President Trump returned to office in January 2025, blocking federal agents from taking custody of migrants connected to 52,503 criminal charges and convictions, Department of Homeland Security figures released Monday show.
The charges behind those blocked detainers include 131 homicide offenses, 132 kidnappings, 1,017 sexual offenses, 1,776 robberies, 2,198 weapons infractions and 9,502 assault charges, according to DHS. That works out to roughly 26 detainer requests going unfulfilled every day across the state between January 20, 2025 and October 8, 2026.
One case DHS highlighted is that of Roman Ceron Amatitla, 38, a Mexican national accused of deliberately setting fire to an occupied building in Flushing, Queens, on March 16, killing four people including a 3-year-old girl. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called it an "act of mass murder." The New York City Department of Correction refused an April ICE detainer for Amatitla in the event of his release, DHS says.
DHS also named ten migrants recently freed by New York despite active detainers. Reivert Jose Urbina-Moreno, a Venezuelan, was arrested on assault, robbery and firearm charges in December 2024, convicted of assault, and then released. Jose Orellana, a Honduran with prior convictions for assault, burglary, larceny, vehicle theft and illegal re-entry, was rearrested on theft charges in April 2026 and freed again, according to DHS.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said: "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." He said federal enforcement proceeds "with no help from Mayor [Zohran] Mamdani and Governor [Kathy] Hochul."
Hochul's spokeswoman, Alexia Nizhny, replied: "Governor Hochul has been clear: New York State is not and never will be a sanctuary for violent criminals." The governor's office says approximately 2,000 individuals in state prison facilities have been transferred to federal immigration authorities under Trump. That figure covers only those already serving state sentences. It says nothing about the far larger count of detainers refused at the local level before a state sentence begins.
Hochul signed the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act in August, and the statute took effect on August 25, 2026, placing new limits on cooperation between state law enforcement and federal immigration authorities on civil immigration matters. New York already permits municipalities to set their own ICE cooperation policies, a structure the Trump administration used to designate the state a "Sanctuary State" in full.
The consequences of earlier releases are on record. Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested in New York in 2023 and released after a misdemeanor vehicle charge. He was later convicted of the February 2024 murder of nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia, according to DHS.
New York insists it is not a sanctuary for violent criminals.
Published October 13, 2026 · Frisian News