Migrants arrested in Arizona for allegedly beating NYPD officers and skipping town — ICE blasts NYC’s ‘sanctuary’ policy

Several illegal migrants accused of brutally assaulting two New York Police Department officers and then skipping town were recently arrested in Arizona, Fox News confirmed Monday evening.

The suspects were detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations at a Greyhound bus station in Phoenix, Arizona.

While the identities of the suspects have not been released, the individuals are believed to have participated in a vicious mob assault against two NYPD officers on January 27. The incident, which was captured by a nearby surveillance camera, showed a large group of men outside a migrant shelter throwing punches and kicks at the cops, Blaze News previously reported.

Four of the migrants were previously charged with assault and released without bail. A fifth suspect was apprehended later and charged with attempted assault of a police officer. Police were still looking for several suspects who fled the scene and were on the run, believed to be heading for California.

Kenneth Genalo, the director of ICE’s New York field office, torched the city’s “sanctuary” policy, claiming it slows down the agency’s ability to detain suspects, the New York Post reported.

“We want to help. The problem is, due to city policies and state law, cooperation is no longer afforded between NYPD and ICE,” Genalo explained. “There’s hundreds of people a week that are being arrested throughout the city and we can’t determine which are the most violent.”

According to Genalo, the agency only learned about the attack through media reports.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the way that we have to do our intelligence at ICE is the same way that you find out about cases — it’s through the media. We’re no longer called [by the NYPD],” he added.

Local laws, established by Democratic former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, prevent the NYPD from working with federal agencies regarding immigration enforcement activities.

“Once they’re back in the community, we have to then go look for them,” Genalo continued. “Instead of being able to take custody of these individuals in the confines of a jail or in the confines of a precinct, we now have to go out into the community and the streets where unfortunately the criminals have the upper hand.”

Mayor Eric Adams stated Monday that he is unable to use city resources to assist ICE due to the current law.

“It is a question that should be presented to the council how do they want to move forward on this issue,” Adams said. “This bill was passed by the city council. I know my role and I share with the office what my views are and use my power either to veto or whatever actions are to support bills, but this is a city council bill that was passed.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!