The Customs and Border Protection officer was shot in the face and forearm Saturday night during an attempted robbery at Manhattan’s Riverside Park involving a previously deported illegal alien.
A Dominican national, Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, who was caught by Border Patrol in April 2023, was taken into custody.
During a Monday morning news conference carried on the Fox News Channel, Noem said there was absolutely no reason for this individual to be running loose on the streets of New York.
"He was arrested four different times in New York City and because of the mayor's policies and sanctuary city policies, was released back to do harm to people and to individuals living in the city. Make no mistake this officer is in the hospital today fighting for his life because of the policies of the mayor of the city."
Noem’s comments came after visiting the officer,42, in the hospital on Monday. His identity is being withheld for safety and privacy considerations.
He is in stable condition and is expected to recover.
DHS will “flood the zone” with ICE agents in New York after the City Council blocked federal law enforcement agencies from opening an office in the city jails, Tom Homan said Monday. Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, is shown above.
Noem extended her criticism to other sanctuary city mayors like in Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
"My hope is that this would wake up these individuals and they would recognize that they can't keep letting these dangerous criminals go free. They can't continue to let these individuals be brought in for crimes they're committing against the public and then releasing them right back onto the streets with no consequences whatsoever. Fortunately for us today, our officer survived."
Noem also announced the arrest of an accomplice, Christhian Aybar-Berroa, an illegal alien from the Dominican Republic.
