DHS Says New York Failed to Honour 16,070 ICE Detainers

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says New York failed to honour 16,070 immigration detainers between January 20, 2025, and October 8, 2026, renewing a dispute between President Donald Trump’s administration and state and city officials over cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The department said the detainers were associated with 52,503 criminal charges and convictions, including 131 homicides, 132 kidnappings, 1,017 sexual offences and 9,502 assaults. The figures combine charges and convictions and do not establish that every allegation resulted in a conviction.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul of obstructing federal enforcement efforts, arguing that local authorities’ refusal to cooperate allows people wanted by immigration officials to remain outside federal custody.

The data was released on October 12, days after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and wounded Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican man, during an attempted arrest in New York City. Federal authorities said Belgal tried to flee and use his vehicle against officers, while city officials questioned the operation. A five-year-old child who was in the vehicle was unharmed.

ICE detainers are requests for local authorities to notify the agency before releasing a person from custody and, in certain circumstances, temporarily hold that person so federal immigration officers can take custody. They are distinct from criminal convictions and do not, by themselves, establish guilt.

New York’s restrictions on cooperation with ICE are part of a wider disagreement over the role of local law enforcement in federal immigration operations. Hochul signed the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act in May 2026, and its ban on local law-enforcement agencies entering or maintaining certain agreements with ICE took effect on August 25. State officials say the restrictions keep local police focused on community safety and protect trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities.

The dispute has also reached the courts. In August, New York’s attorney general and governor sued the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office over its failure to terminate an agreement with ICE under the new law. The case illustrates the competing legal obligations facing local agencies under state restrictions and federal immigration enforcement arrangements.

DHS has cited individual cases involving people it says were released from local custody despite immigration detainers, including suspects facing murder, assault and sexual-offence charges. Such cases form part of the department’s argument that cooperation is necessary to prevent further offences. The figures released by DHS, however, do not by themselves establish that every person associated with an unhonoured detainer committed the alleged offence or went on to reoffend.

New York officials have defended their approach as a means of limiting local involvement in federal civil immigration enforcement. The disagreement comes as the Trump administration presses state and local authorities to provide greater assistance to ICE, while several Democratic-led jurisdictions seek to restrict that cooperation.

Source: FSX Business News