The White House on Saturday criticized New York City’s sanctuary policies, arguing that limits on cooperation with federal immigration authorities have contributed to violent crime and disorder.
“Radical Democrat politicians must stop releasing criminal illegal aliens from jails into our communities,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said angrily.
“These reckless policies have consequences and far too often they are the death of innocent Americans. Extreme Democrats must stop putting criminal illegal aliens above American citizens.”
The Trump administration is forcefully defending the ICE agents who shot 28-year-old migrant Oscar Belgal in the Bronx on Thursday. Officials argue the confrontation might have been prevented if the NYPD had transferred suspects to immigration authorities before releasing them.
According to sources and court records, the Dominican migrant had an extensive criminal history but remained on the streets under New York’s bail and sanctuary policies.
Belgal is believed to have entered the United States illegally around 2022. The following year, he was convicted of robbing someone at gunpoint in Fordham Heights. Within months, he was allegedly arrested for selling drugs, and sources say he has ties to a violent street gang.
The administration has cited Belgal’s case alongside several other high-profile incidents involving suspects who had previously been arrested and released by the NYPD.
D’Angelo Caraballo and Sneider Mejia Bautista, the illegal aliens accused of stabbing off-duty NYPD Detective Jose Mercedes last week, had each been arrested previously on separate charges and released. Authorities say the pair approached Mercedes on an e-bike and attempted to steal his gold chain. When he resisted, they allegedly stabbed him seven times.
Cristian Aybar-Berroa, 22, and Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, 21, are accused of shooting an off-duty Customs and Border Protection agent during a July moped robbery in Manhattan’s Fort Washington Park. Both men had previously been arrested by the NYPD and released.
Aybar-Berroa entered the country illegally in 2022 amid a surge in migration during the Biden administration. After a federal immigration judge ordered his deportation in 2023, the NYPD handcuffed him eight times, yet he was released on each occasion.
As The Post previously reported, Mora Nunez had been arrested multiple times in New York, including twice in August 2024 after allegedly assaulting a pregnant woman. He was also wanted in Massachusetts on weapons and kidnapping charges.
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Richard Williams, an 83-year-old Air Force veteran, died of a brain bleed after a Honduran illegal immigrant allegedly shoved him onto the F/Q subway tracks in Manhattan in March. The suspect had reportedly been deported four times.
Police described the suspect, Bairon Posada-Hernandez, as a “serial criminal” with at least 15 charges on his record. The allegations included simple assault, domestic violence and obstruction of justice.
The year before Tren de Aragua member José Antonio Ibarra murdered 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley while she was jogging at the University of Georgia in 2024, the NYPD had arrested and released him for riding a scooter with his 2-year-old child, who was not wearing a helmet. He was also wanted on an arrest warrant in Georgia.
The incidents have become a focal point in the broader battle over sanctuary-city policies. Federal officials contend that when local authorities decline to cooperate with immigration enforcement, dangerous suspects can remain free in the community.
White House border czar Tom Homan attacked sanctuary-city policies during an appearance on Fox News on Saturday. He also defended the ICE agents who opened fire on Belgal’s vehicle while his 5-year-old son was sitting in the back seat.
“They performed exactly as they were trained. This man tried to run an officer over. He feared for his life, so he took action,” Homan told the network.
“Many of these instances could be avoided if they’d simply give us access to the bad guy in the safety and security of the jail rather than release him into the community.”
The NYPD has said that its ability to act is constrained by the law.
Law enforcement experts warn that the consequences of these policies may extend beyond the courtroom.
“Several states have challenged federal immigration enforcement in ways that, in my view, create unnecessary risks for civilians,” said Michael Alcazar, retired NYPD detective and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“By prohibing local police from assisting ICE during operations, they limit the ability to maintain a safe and controlled environment.”
Additional reporting by Tina Moore