ICE’s New York field director is praising the arrest of a Guyanese fugitive who had been living in Queens after allegedly fleeing a 2015 murder.
Kenneth Genalo, who leads Enforcement and Removal Operations for the agency’s New York City Field Office, issued a pointed statement Monday following the capture of Kanand Ojha, 45, in Long Island City on Sept. 8. The takedown involved the US Marshals Service’s New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, a specialized unit that draws agents from both ICE and Homeland Security Investigations.
Ojha stands accused of murdering Nephi Noel in Georgetown, Guyana’s capital, then fleeing to the United States just one week later, according to the ICE press release. He initially entered the country lawfully through Kennedy Airport, but his legal status was swiftly revoked once authorities discovered the outstanding arrest warrant from his home country.
“New Yorkers are safer today because this accused murderer is no longer free to roam our neighborhoods,” Genalo said in the Monday release.
The case stretches back nearly a decade to the 2015 killing that prompted Ojha’s flight. While Ojha managed to escape Guyana and establish himself in the United States, an alleged accomplice faced justice years earlier. That co-defendant was convicted of manslaughter in 2017 and received a 20-year prison sentence, according to ICE officials.
Genalo used the announcement to take aim at local policies that limit cooperation between New York City agencies and federal immigration authorities.
“Officials who obstruct lawful cooperation between immigration authorities and law enforcement partners place politics ahead of safety and allow dangerous fugitives to embed themselves within our communities,” he continued.
The remarks reflect ongoing friction between ICE and city leadership over sanctuary policies that restrict how local law enforcement can assist federal immigration operations. The Sept. 8 arrest in Long Island City came through the task force structure that combines federal resources rather than relying on local coordination.
Ojha, 45, had remained in the country for years after his lawful status was pulled, though the timeline of exactly when authorities revoked his permission to stay was not detailed in the release. His ability to remain in Queens undetected until this month became central to Genalo’s argument about the risks of limited inter-agency cooperation.
The Guyana murder case represents one of the more serious criminal allegations among recent ICE arrests in the New York area, where enforcement operations have drawn both support and sustained criticism from immigrant advocacy organizations and local officials.