Federal Immigration Enforcement (ICE) agents pulled more than 2,100 people off New York streets in a monthlong operation, as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani of endangering public safety with sanctuary policies.
Secretary Mullin announced Tuesday that Operation Rotten Apple resulted in 2,197 arrests across New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley over a 33-day stretch from July 27 to Aug. 29, calling the arrestees "the worst of the worst," alleged gang members, rapists, murderers and child predators who "should never have been on our streets." He said the operation was a direct response to New York's refusal to cooperate with federal detainers, claiming the state had released more than 13,000 criminal defendants ICE wanted held. "Before you put them back on the streets, let us deport them," Mullin said. "No, they released 13,000." He added that ICE's mandate extends beyond convicted criminals: "If you're here illegally, regardless of your status, if you're a convicted criminal or not, it is our job to hunt you down and to deport you."
Mullin also took aim at Mamdani directly, faulting the "very liberal-slash-socialist mayor" and a governor who "refuses to work with us" for necessitating the surge.
The enforcement push comes as New York officials separately press DHS to release $87 million in counterterrorism grants tied to a funding fight dating back to last October, when President Trump announced on Truth Social that he had personally reversed an earlier 86% cut to the state's homeland security allocation. State officials say the balance remains unpaid nearly a year later.
A New York Times analysis of federal data found a majority of those arrested statewide in July had not been convicted of a crime.
Whether the disputed funding arrives before Sept. 11 remains unclear.
