3 minPolitics
ICE arrests Guinean man accused of attacking NYC police officer
Federal immigration officers arrested Alpha Bah, a Guinean national accused of assaulting a New York City police officer, after New York City authorities released him despite repeated ICE detainer requests.
Federal immigration officers arrested Alpha Bah, a Guinean national accused of attacking a New York City police officer, on Friday, ending a manhunt that followed his release from local custody despite repeated requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold him. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Bah was taken into custody at approximately 3:25 p.m. after ICE officers tracked him to a temporary residence in New York City.
According to a DHS official, officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations developed intelligence on Bah's last known temporary residence on Friday and set up surveillance in the surrounding area. At approximately 2:22 p.m., officers saw a man matching his description leave the residence and meet several unidentified individuals on a nearby public street. Officers kept monitoring him rather than approaching immediately because several school-aged children were in the area. About an hour later, officers spotted Bah alone and approached him while displaying police and ICE identification.
Officers confirmed his identity through biographical questions, a photograph and Mobile Fortify, a biometric identification tool. They informed him of an administrative immigration arrest warrant and took him into custody without incident. He was then transported to 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan for post-arrest processing, the official said.
Bah was first arrested on Oct. 7 on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and intent to obtain transportation without paying, according to DHS. ICE lodged a detainer with Queens Central Booking, but Bah was released without federal immigration authorities being notified, the department said earlier. Fox News Digital had previously reported that New York City authorities released him despite repeated requests from federal immigration officials to keep him in custody.
The case drew sharp criticism from federal officials, who accused New York City's sanctuary policies of allowing Bah back onto the streets despite the pending detainer. In a statement issued before Friday's arrest, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said: « This illegal alien from Guinea was arrested for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon. Despite these violent charges, New York City sanctuary politicians refused to honor ICE's detainer and released him back onto the streets, and he remains at large. »
Mullin directed his remarks at Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, urging them to end what he described as sanctuary policies « before another American gets hurt, or worse. » The department's account of the arrest, as well as its earlier statements on the release, came from DHS and a department official; the source material does not include a response from New York City officials to the criticism or to the claims about the detainer.
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