Adedokun Waliyu 
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) highlighted its activities in the Bronx after a series of raids in Chicago.
Newly-appointed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on social media that she joined an “enforcement operation” in New York City early Tuesday. It appeared to yield one arrest.
“Criminal alien with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges is now in custody,” she posted on X. “Dirtbags like this will continue to be removed from our streets.”
The display comes as Republican lawmakers set their sights on sanctuary cities, whose laws limit their cooperation with ICE. The mayors of New York, Chicago, Denver and Boston have been called by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to testify about their sanctuary policies in a hearing in February.
Since his inauguration last week, President Donald Trump has made sweeping moves on immigration after promising to carry out the largest mass deportation in US history, focusing initially on migrants with criminal records.
He declared a national emergency at the southern border, ordering thousands of additional troops to assist with enforcement. He’s also cut off access to asylum.
In New York, the police department has told officers that its rules block them from participating in “immigration enforcement actions conducted by ICE” and that requests from federal immigration authorities must undergo legal review before the department provides assistance.
The law in New York allows the city to cooperate with ICE detainer requests in cases of individuals who have been convicted of certain violent or serious crimes or are identified as a possible match in the terrorist screening database. The city does not help in the transfer of those people to ICE’s custody, however, and also doesn’t track the immigration status of people in its custody.
New York Mayor Eric Adams has called on the city, which has tightened its sanctuary laws in recent years, to reform its policies to allow for more compliance with federal authorities when it comes to people accused of crimes.
ICE reported on Monday via X that it made 1,179 arrests nationwide, bringing the total since Jan. 23 to 3,552. It touted arrests in Chicago, Baltimore, Buffalo, Atlanta, San Francisco, and elsewhere.
