Trump administration to 'flood' NYC with more ICE agents after border protection officer shot: Homan
HARLEM, New York (WABC) -- Acting ICE Director Tom Homan said on Monday the agency would "flood the zone" with more agents following a botched robbery that left an off-duty border patrol officer injured late Saturday.
The suspects in the attack in Washington Heights are both undocumented immigrants.
"We're going to flood the zone. You don't want to let us in the jail to arrest the bad guy in the safety and security of a jail? You want to release him into the street, which makes it unsafe for the community, makes it unsafe for the officer, makes it unsafe for the alien. Anything can happen in a street arrest," said Homan.
Secretary Krisiti Noem and Homan were in New York City on Monday in the aftermath of the botched robbery of the off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer who was shot in the face in Fort Washington Park underneath the George Washington Bridge. He is recovering.
Homan and Noem blamed sanctuary city policies - including specifically the mayor and City Council - for the two suspects remaining on the streets.
"How many more lives will it take, how many more people have to be hurt and victimized before we have public safety be a number one priority in some of our largest cities," Noem said. "When I look at what Mayor Adams has done to New York City, it breaks my heart to see the families that have suffered because of his policies."
The suspects in the botched robbery, Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez and Christhian Aybar-Berroa, are awaiting arraignment. Both are undocumented immigrants from the Dominican Republic, officials say.
Mayor Eric Adams said both men have lengthy criminal records and they should have been deported months ago.
Video of the incident released by the Department of Homeland Security shows two men on a moped approach the 42-year-old officer who was with a female companion. The officer was shot in the face and arm but fired back with his service weapon, hitting the gunman's leg.
Police say Aybar-Berroa was the alleged moped driver and had been arrested eight times between March and April last year on charges ranging from grand larceny to reckless endangerment and robbery.
According to DHS, Mora is in the country illegally despite being ordered to return to the Dominican Republic in 2023. He also has an active warrant for kidnapping and armed robbery in Massachusetts.
Noem said Adams is to blame.
"Make no mistake, this officer is in the hospital today, fighting for his life, because of the policies of the mayor of the city and the City Council and the people that were in charge of keeping the public safe refused to do so," Noem said.
Adams responded: "I have nothing to do with the rules that are put in place. I just carry out the rules."
Tom Homan said sanctuary cities are now a priority and ICE agents will be targeting those areas in an effort to round up those here illegally.
Adams said he does not advise agents to go after those who are actively trying to find a path to citizenship.
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