Immigration officers spent the month of August rounding up illegal immigrants charged or convicted of crimes across New York state, many of whom had been released by sanctuary officials, federal authorities said.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials held a press conference Tuesday in New York City to recap ICE’s enforcement efforts and some of the “worst of the worst” offenders who are now off the streets.
The targeted operation, called Operation Rotten Apple, ran from July 27 to August 29 and resulted in the arrests of 2,197 illegal immigrants in New York and the Big Apple.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement captured murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug traffickers and violent assailants despite local and state laws designed to thwart immigration enforcement.
“These arrests included gang members, rapists, murderers, and child predators, which I believe there is a special place in hell for those individuals,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said during the news conference.
We will stop at nothing to protect the American people.
Through Operation Rotten Apple, we did what @GovKathyHochul and @NYCMayor REFUSE to do: removed illegal aliens from the streets and made the Empire State SAFE. pic.twitter.com/z80DxrB1UX
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 2, 2026
The Trump administration has toned down the publicity around targeted immigration raids but hasn’t eased up on criticism of sanctuary policies that allow criminals to be released back into local neighborhoods.
Mullin said DHS and ICE carried out the operation “with no help” from New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Mamdani.
ICE arrested more than 2,100 criminal illegal aliens in the New York – where sanctuary policies prohibit state and local law enforcement from working with federal immigration officers – during Operation Rotten Apple.
“These are not the people New York sanctuary policies should… pic.twitter.com/Mw2JPBaXeX
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) September 2, 2026
In fact, Hochul has released more than 13,000 criminal illegal aliens from jail back onto the streets of New York to “terrorize innocent Americans,” Mullin said.
“Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of ICE and our federal partners, 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 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.”
Earlier this year, Mayor Mamdani signed an executive order turning New York City into a shield for violent criminal illegal immigrants to reoffend and create more innocent victims, DHS officials said.
Mamdani’s action came after Gov. Hochul’s legislative proposal to bar local police departments from partnering and cooperating with ICE law enforcement.
The sanctuary provisions make ICE’s job more difficult and dangerous, Mullin said.
He said New York should not receive one cent of federal funding as long as it continues to enact policies that work against ICE, WABC 7 News reported.
Hochul has requested $87 million from the federal government for police enforcement and counter-terrorism. She also challenged whether DHS is focused on serious offenders.
Mullin said anyone in the country illegally is breaking the law and at risk of being deported.
“If you are here illegally, regardless of your status, if you are a convicted criminal or not, you are still in this country illegally, and it is our job to hunt you down and to deport you,” he said.
Over his decades in the profession, he said he has seen the real-world consequences of sanctuary policies.
“The safety of the public must take precedence over political agendas, and ICE will continue to enforce federal law without apology,” he added.
