As President-elect Donald Trump gears up to carry out what he has described as the "largest deportation operation in American history," Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is already conducting operations aimed at cracking down on undocumented migrants who committed serious crimes.
A report from the Associated Press detailed the complications the agency goes through when attempting to apprehend people who fall into the category. It describes the detention of a 23-year-old Ecuadorian man convicted of sexually assaulting a minor in the Bronx.
The man, who pleaded guilty to raping a 14-year-old girl, was apprehended near his residence after hours of surveillance.
The operation also aimed to detain two other individuals: a 36-year-old Mexican man convicted of forcibly touching a young girl and another Ecuadorian man convicted of sexually abusing a minor.
Kenneth Genalo, head of Enforcement and Removal Operations for ICE in New York, told the outlet that the targets illustrate the agency's focus on individuals with serious criminal histories. Genalo noted that prioritizing such cases aligns with broader enforcement strategies, though the agency faces significant challenges, including limited staffing and mounting caseloads.
ICE has approximately 6,000 officers responsible for monitoring and removing individuals deemed ineligible to remain in the U.S. These officers oversee a docket that includes 1.4 million individuals with final removal orders and about 660,000 under immigration supervision with criminal convictions or pending charges.
In New York, Genalo's team is tasked with handling approximately 58,000 cases involving individuals with criminal records or active charges. Staffing shortages compound these challenges, with the team operating at about 30% below its intended capacity.
ICE reported deporting over 270,000 individuals in a recent 12-month period, the highest annual tally in a decade. However, the agency made fewer arrests overall, partly due to the diversion of personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border during surges in migration. Critics of ICE's tactics and rhetoric have raised concerns about the potential for overreach, particularly with the possibility of increased "collateral arrests" under the Trump administration.
Sanctuary policies in many cities complicate enforcement. New York City ceased routine cooperation with ICE in 2014 under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. However, current Mayor Eric Adams has expressed openness to revisiting some of these policies to address violent crimes and has even met with Trump's incoming Border Czar, Tom Homan, to discuss potential steps during the next administration.
Adams said that New York has "made terrible mistakes in the past" and that, from now on, would not be a "safe haven" for criminals: "We're not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants, and longstanding New Yorkers."
Homan praised the Mayor's position after their meeting, describing the conversation between both as "great", and commending Adams for his willingness to work with the next administration and taking jabs at other Democratic officials as well:
"Look, I sat down with the mayor for well over an hour. He gets it. And today he proved that as the mayor in New York City, he's more concerned with public safety than politics. I wish the mayor of Chicago and the San Diego City council mayor and Governor Pritzker, I wish they'd all take a page out of Mayor Eric Adams' playbook."
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