The Department of Homeland Security says New York City and State have refused to honor 16,070 ICE detainers between January 20, 2025, and October 8, 2026, tied to migrants facing a combined 52,503 criminal charges and convictions.
DHS posted the figures Monday, directly blaming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul for the policy of non-cooperation.
“We enforce these laws with no help from Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul,” DHS said in its Monday post. “Since January 20, 2025, to October 8, 2026, New York has failed to honor 16,070 ICE detainers. There are 52,503 total criminal charges and convictions associated with the detainers that were not honored. The Trump Administration is committed to protecting the American people in every city and every state, and we won’t let sanctuary politicians stand in our way.”
The number marks a sharp jump from just a week earlier, when DHS reported New York had refused to honor 14,766 detainers. In the span of a week, the count of unhonored detainers rose by more than 1,300.
A detainer is a request ICE sends to local or state law enforcement asking that an illegal alien in custody be held briefly so federal agents can take custody for deportation proceedings. When jurisdictions decline to honor these requests, the individuals are released back into the community instead of being turned over to ICE.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told The Post this month that sanctuary policies are putting the public at risk while federal agents are left to do the job alone.
“While sanctuary politicians continue to release dangerous criminals onto their streets, our brave law enforcement officers will continue to risk their lives to arrest these heinous criminals and make America safe again. Illegal aliens have no sanctuary in America,” Mullin said. “We enforce these laws with no help from Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul. The Trump Administration is committed to protecting the American people in every city and every state, and we won’t let sanctuary politicians stand in our way.”
New York is far from the only target of DHS criticism. In March, the agency reported that sanctuary states and cities nationwide had refused to honor roughly 18,000 additional ICE detainers. Earlier this year, ICE reported that sanctuary-state California had released 4,500 migrants convicted of murder, sexual assault, and child sex crimes without honoring detainer requests.
DHS has made clear it intends to keep enforcement pressure on sanctuary jurisdictions regardless of local policy, insisting that federal agents will continue making arrests even without cooperation from city and state officials.
