Immigration Crackdown in NYC Causes Widespread Arrests and Heightened Tensions

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Authorities arrested 20 people during immigration enforcement actions in New York City on Tuesday, officials said.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who joined federal agents Tuesday to announce the arrests of immigrants wanted on criminal charges, said she spoke to Mayor Eric Adams “four or five times” before the actions.

“Working with the mayor of New York City was fantastic,” she said. “I talked to him four or five times last night about what we were doing, our operations, how they could support us. We also need these sanctuary city laws to be lifted so we can use the full authorities, that when we bring up these people, when we capture them, that we can prosecute them and we can truly get them out of this country.”

The operation in the Bronx snared Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, who authorities said was part of a group of men, including members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, who entered an apartment in Aurora, Colorado, last summer and were recorded on a widely viewed video.

The enforcement actions started at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday on Ogden Avenue with Zambrano-Pacheco’s arrest and lasted for about four hours, with Noem participating at several locations.

In an arrest warrant, Aurora police said Zambrano-Pacheco was also wanted in a kidnapping in which at least 20 armed men abducted and threatened two people in late June. In addition, police said Zambrano-Pacheco was with a group of armed men before a shooting occurred shortly after the apartment incident that was caught on video.

Zambrano-Pacheco is the fifth person to be arrested in connection with the Aurora apartment incident. The video showed six armed men, including at least some people identified as Tren de Aragua members by federal authorities, entering the apartment shortly before a fatal shooting outside the complex.

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The reputed Venezuelan gang member appeared in federal court Wednesday on a charge of possession of a firearm while a fugitive from justice. Investigators released a photo of the loaded 9-millimeter handgun they found in a dresser drawer inside the 25-year-old’s apartment.

Of the 20 arrests, a dozen were targeted, and eight were undocumented people considered to be ‘collateral damage.’

“If you are an individual, a foreign national, who illegally enters the United States of America, you are by definition, a criminal,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Mayor Eric Adams says he directed the NYPD to coordinate with federal authorities for this operation because the targets were wanted criminals and it did not violate the city’s sanctuary city laws.

Critics said they are concerned by Mayor Adams’ willingness to work with the Trump administration.

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“You can’t just disentangle the history of New York City from the history of immigrant communities that have shaped our neighborhoods, our public spaces, our culture, our businesses, our art. Yet the mayor and the president see millions of people not only in this city but across the country, as expendable,” Councilman Alex Aviles said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday’s arrests did not appear to be part of a “wholesale raid,” but rather an operation targeting specific people accused of crimes.

“I want to be clear, there’s always been ICE raids in the state of New York, even in the past. This is not a new dynamic,” she said.

As the immigration crackdown continues and some retreat in fear, people across New York City are stepping up and speaking out.

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“We will stand together against hate and attacks that seek to divide us. We know that more support is needed for the community organizations defending and serving our neighborhoods during this very pivotal time,” New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said.

When the city council speaker announced 2-million dollars in funding for dozens of immigrant advocacy groups across the city, it was welcome news.

Yesenia Mata is the executive director of La Colmena, a non-profit community-based organization on Staten Island.

“Through this funding what we are able to do is provide services to the community on site, to have attorneys on site, to have interpretation on site,” Mata said.

The prospect of more operations focused not just on violent criminals but on the undocumented has New York’s immigrant population living in fear.

Alicia Portada is the deputy director of Mixteca, an organization that assists the growing Mexican and Latin American community in Sunset Park.

“Definitely the fear is real. We have experienced that in our offices as well, a drop of visits that we usually get,” Portada said.

“If you are migrant in New York City, you can go about your life – no problem. But the minute you break the law, you become a criminal and you become our problem,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

Arrests and detentions so far have occurred in the Bronx, Washington Heights and Queens.

In the first weeks of the Trump administration, the DHS has focused on large-scale actions in sanctuary cities such as New York City and Chicago.

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