ICE arrested nearly 2,200 illegal migrants across New York state during a monthlong enforcement operation that ended last week.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced the results of “Operation Rotten Apple” on Tuesday, revealing that agents had taken 2,197 people into custody between July 27 and Aug. 29. The sweep specifically targeted individuals with serious criminal records, including convictions for murder, rape, child sexual abuse, and drug trafficking.
“We won’t let sanctuary politicians stand in our way,” Mullin said in a statement. “If you’re a state or local politician, your best bet is to cooperate with us so we can all make America safe again.”
Among those arrested was Bogdan Detrovich Gren, a Ukrainian national in the US illegally who has criminal convictions for kidnapping, abduction resulting in death, criminal possession of a weapon, and murder, according to DHS. Agents also detained Andreas Bernal Chiquito, a Colombian illegal migrant with past arrests for sexual conduct against a child and injuring a child less than 17.
The operation also netted Palvinder Singh, an illegal migrant from India who was convicted of rape in Germany, and Carlos Mendez-Acosta, a Venezuelan migrant convicted of rape, federal authorities said.
Mullin framed the operation as a direct rebuke to New York’s Democratic leadership. He noted the sweep was conducted “with no help” from either Mayor Zohran Mamdani or Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“Operation Rotten Apple did what sanctuary politicians in New York City and the state of New York refuse to do: made the Empire State safer,” Mullin said.
The arrests come amid escalating tensions between the Trump administration and New York officials over sanctuary policies. Mamdani, who took office in January, signed an executive order shortly after assuming office reinforcing sanctuary protections against what he called “abusive immigration enforcement” by the Trump administration. The mayor has since passed additional legislation making it harder for local law enforcement to cooperate with President Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown.
In Albany, Hochul successfully pushed through legislation preventing state police from partnering with federal immigration authorities and barring ICE agents from most public places like hospitals and parks. According to DHS, those “radical sanctuary policies” have resulted in more than 13,000 criminal aliens being released back onto New York streets.
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan blasted the state’s approach to immigration enforcement.
“Democratic politicians in New York and elsewhere say that they care about public safety, but won’t let immigration law enforcement officers into their jails to take criminals into custody, instead they release them to their streets,” Homan said.
The operation represents one of the largest single-state immigration enforcement actions of the Trump administration’s second term, with arrests spanning the full month from late July through late August.