Crimes in sanctuary cities are preventable, former Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director and Fox News contributor Tom Homan argued Saturday.
Appearing on “Fox & Friends: Weekend,” Homan told host Griff Jenkins that while some sanctuary jurisdictions will hand ICE “the most violent of the criminals,” some jurisdictions “won’t work with us at all.”
Federal officials said Tuesday that New York Authorities released a Guyanese convicted child abuser into the community, defying an ICE request that he be held for deportation. The offender went on to be arrested for yet another case of abuse in July.
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Deportation officers tracked the perpetrator down on October 9 in Queens, NY.
New York is one of the country’s most prominent sanctuary cities. The city won a court case last year to preserve its sanctuary policy, with a judge ruling that the Department of Justice couldn’t withhold federal funds in order for the city to surrender its policy.
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The PEW Research Center reported a staggering 1.1 million illegal immigrants in New York City in 2016.
“Every one of these crimes are preventable, and it’s just a shame that sanctuary city policies still are alive today,” Homan said.
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In a statement, NYPD Spokesman Alfred J. Baker said that “The NYPD does not engage in civil immigration enforcement.”
But, Homan says that’s a “false narrative.”
“They don’t want to be immigration officers. They don’t want to be involved in the immigration enforcement process. But, we’re not asking them to,” he told Jenkins.
“What we’re saying is we know when we notify you that we have probable cause — you have detained someone that’s in the country illegally — notify us before you release them.
“You don’t have to hold them one minute past when you would normally hold them in your charges. But before he walks out the door: call us and we’ll be there. There’s no liability there. There’s no legal question there.”
“That’s not enforcing immigration law. That’s cops working with cops to protect the community.”
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He concluded: “That’s the false narrative being pushed by the politicians, and that’s what upsets me every time we talk about these cases. It’s a false narrative. The American people deserve the truth and they need to hear the truth.”
Fox News reached out to Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s office for comment, but they declined to do so.
The Washington Times contributed to this report.
