NYC ICE Chief Urges 143 Officials to Change Law, Not Abolish Agency
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Nov 9
NYC ICE Chief Urges 143 Officials to Change Law, Not Abolish Agency
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 9
Summary
Kenneth Genalo, ICE’s top New York City enforcement official, said politicians who oppose ICE should change federal immigration law rather than “demonize” agents carrying it out.
During a Brooklyn ride-along, Genalo tied that argument to two street arrests — including a man facing a pending felony sexual abuse charge — saying sanctuary limits force ICE to arrest suspects in public after local jails ignore detainer requests.
Genalo said the July letter from 143 New York elected officials calling to dismantle ICE has fueled protests that disrupt operations, including one arrest of an Ecuadorian national whom ICE said faced child sexual abuse charges.
He argued New York has abandoned post-9/11 lessons on federal-local cooperation, noting ICE once took more than 100 people a week from a Rikers Island unit before that arrangement ended.
The clash is widening beyond rhetoric: Mayor Zohran Mamdani threatened legal action over ICE’s use of city parking lots, while New York state set a Nov. 25 deadline to end local detention agreements for federal civil immigration holds.