As New York moved to curb ICE cooperation, the agency arrested 2,100

As New York moved to curb ICE cooperation, the agency arrested 2, 100.

Key points

• New York's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, signed in May, prohibits state and local agencies from entering into or maintaining 287(g) agreements.
• Mullin cast the operation as a rebuke to Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, both Democrats.
• Standing beside placards displaying individuals arrested in a monthlong operation, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin cautioned New York's leaders: If they won't work with U.S.
• Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows ICE to deputize state and local officers to perform certain federal immigration functions.
• Tom Homan, the border czar, informed "Fox & Friends" that New York should expect climbed federal immigration enforcement.

See Tom Homan vow to send more ICE agents to New York.

Standing beside placards displaying individuals arrested in a monthlong operation, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin cautioned New York's leaders: If they won't work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, federal agents will come into their communities instead.

"Because they refuse to work with us with the 287(g) program, we will send as many people as we have possible, " Mullin remarked Sept. 1, referring to a federal program that authorizes state and local officers to perform certain immigration-enforcement duties in partnership with ICE.

His remarks escalated a confrontation over New York's efforts to disentangle local police from federal immigration enforcement. They additionally came days after a new state law forced local agencies to end their partnerships with ICE.

Mullin remarked "Operation Rotten Apple" resulted in more than 2, 100 arrests throughout New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley and upstate New York between July 27 and Aug. 29. The operation concluded four days after the new law took effect.

It additionally followed months of warnings from the Trump administration that limiting cooperation would bring more federal agents into New York.

In June – two weeks after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the "Local Cops, Local Crimes" Act – White House border czar Tom Homan remarked he had reviewed an operational plan to fulfill a pledge he produced to her if New York restricted local partnerships with ICE.

"I made her a promise: You're going to see more ICE agents than you've ever seen in New York City, and it's coming, " Homan remarked during an interview with Fox News.

DHS did not say whether "Operation Rotten Apple" was the plan Homan had referenced.

In practice, the department highlighted a number of residents convicted of serious crimes, including murder, kidnapping, rape, robbery, drug trafficking and sexual offenses against children.

But DHS did not provide a full accounting of those arrested or say how plenty of had criminal convictions, pending charges or no criminal records. Previous operations nationwide have additionally swept up U.S. Citizens, longtime residents and immigrants with pending asylum cases or protections that would typically shield them from deportation.

"These are not the people New York sanctuary policies should be protecting from federal immigration enforcement, " Kenneth Genalo, director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in New York City, remarked during the news conference.

Genalo remarked such policies produce enforcement more dangerous by preventing agents from taking custody of individuals in the controlled environment of a jail, forcing them to instead produce arrests in public spaces.

"This is not safer. That is not compassionate. That is a political choice with real consequences, " Genalo remarked.

Mullin repeatedly described those arrested as "criminals" and "the worst of the worst." Afterwards in the news conference, even so, he created clear the operation was not limited to residents who had been convicted of crimes – and stated ICE would arrest residents based solely on their immigration status.

"If you're here illegally, regardless of your status, if you're a convicted criminal or not, you're still in this country illegally, " Mullin remarked. "It is our job to hunt you down and to deport you."

That broader approach is reflected in ICE's detention population nationwide. As of July 11, 70% of the almost 66, 000 residents in ICE custody had no criminal conviction, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. It analyzes federal immigration data. That group includes some individuals facing pending charges, but additionally thousands detained solely for alleged civil immigration violations.

Mullin's focus on violent offenders echoed a central argument the Trump administration has applied to justify its crackdown on illegal immigration. Broader research has consistently discovered that immigrants as a whole are less probable than U.S.-born individuals to commit crimes or be incarcerated. A 2024 study discovered lower incarceration rates among immigrants over 150 years of U.S. History. Separately, a 2026 analysis by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, estimated that immigrants living in the country without documentation were regarding 44% less probable to be incarcerated than U.S.-born Americans.

Mullin cast the operation as a rebuke to Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, both Democrats. He accused them of making New Yorkers less safe by releasing 13, 000 noncitizens despite ICE detainers. It are requests that local agencies hold individuals temporarily so federal officers can take custody of them. He called all 13, 000 "criminals" but did not provide documentation, identify the period covered or distinguish between convictions and pending charges.

Hochul and Mamdani did not immediately respond to USA TODAY'S requests for comment. A rapidly growing ICE program.

At the center of the fight is a once relatively obscure federal program that has become a cornerstone of President Donald Trump's mass-deportation campaign.

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows ICE to deputize state and local officers to perform certain federal immigration functions. Depending on the agreement, local officers can screen individuals in jails, execute administrative immigration warrants or question and arrest residents for suspected immigration violations during routine police work.

For context, the Trump administration has rapidly expanded the program. ICE had 135 active agreements at the end of the 2024 fiscal year. By September 2025, DHS remarked it had more than 1, 000 – a more than 600% rise, according to the department.

Meanwhile, the expansion has deepened a growing divide between states. Republican-led Florida and Texas have embraced the program, with some states requiring local agencies to participate. Democratic-led states have increasingly sought to keep local police out of federal immigration enforcement. While Maryland, Maine and New Mexico enacted bans as the program grew, california and Illinois already restricted such partnerships.

Critics of 287(g) argue that deputizing local officers to carry out civil immigration enforcement erodes trust, making immigrants less probable to report crimes, seek assist or cooperate as witnesses. Hochul has created that argument in defending New York's law, saying local officers should remain focused on investigating crimes rather than using state and local resources to perform ICE's work.

"The 'Local Cops, Local Crimes Act' keeps New Yorkers safe by ensuring public safety resources go toward combating crime in our communities, not carrying out the work of ICE, " Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James remarked in an official note in August. "The federal government claims they are going after the 'worst of the worst, ' but every American has seen the reality: ICE is terrorizing communities and families with indiscriminate raids, detaining people without regard for criminal record, and using local law enforcement to deliver on the administration's mass deportation agenda."

New York's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, signed in May, prohibits state and local agencies from entering into or maintaining 287(g) agreements. The 12 agencies already participating were given until Aug. 25 to unwind them.

For context, the law does not prevent local officers from working with federal agencies on criminal investigations. It bars them from performing federal civil immigration enforcement functions.

For context, the Trump administration challenged the law before it took effect. The Justice Department sued New York in June, arguing the ban unlawfully interfered with federal immigration enforcement. A federal judge declined to block the 287(g) provision, allowing the deadline to stand. The fight then splintered within New York.

Fifteen county sheriffs sued to overturn the law on the day it took effect. Nassau County agreed to dissolve its ICE partnership but joined the challenge. Its Republican county executive, Bruce Blakeman, is running against Hochul for governor.

Rensselaer County took a more defiant approach. It was the only one of the 12 participating agencies that did not tell state authorities it would end its agreement, according to the governor's office. Hochul and James have since sued the county, asking a court to force its sheriff to comply.

As that fight played out, ICE officers were already carrying out "Operation Rotten Apple."

Mullin remarked New York's resistance would not reduce immigration enforcement. It would change where – and how – it happens. "We're not done, " he remarked. "We're still moving forward." SMS Facebook Twitter Email. Share your feedback to support improve our site! Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, as New York moved to curb ICE cooperation, the agency arrested 2, 100 is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.