Noem blames 'sanctuary' policies for migrant accused of shooting off-duty CBP officer
The off-duty officer was allegedly struck in the face and forearm in Manhattan's Riverside Park on Saturday night. Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, a Dominican national who was caught by Border Patrol in April 2023, was taken into custody following the shooting.
"There's absolutely zero reason that someone who is scum of the earth like this should be running loose on the streets of New York City," Noem told reporters Monday in reference to Nunez. "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 this city."
"We were able to bring the second individual in and have detained him as well, and he will face consequences and hopefully strong prosecution for his crimes and his involvement on Saturday night," she added. The alleged accomplice was also in the country illegally, she said.
Homeland Security earlier said "A witness of the attack — believed to be an attempted robbery — states that she and the victim were sitting on the rocks by the water when 2 subjects on a scooter drove up to them and the passenger got off the back and approached them with a firearm drawn. The off-duty CBP officer responded by withdrawing his own firearm in self-defense."
"The CBP officer was shot in his right arm and left cheek. Thankfully, the officer is in stable condition at the hospital," it added.
After visiting the officer on Monday, Noem said "I just want you all to know that we have our hearts and our prayers going out with our officer and with his family and his friends, and will be lifting him up in prayer for his quick recovery and his healing from this terrible tragedy that has befallen him."
"Our officer was off-duty on Saturday evening when him and his friend were attacked. They were attacked by two individuals that were set on robbing them, and thankfully he had his service weapon with him and was able to defend himself and his friend and injured one of those individuals that was trying to do them harm. His quick action speaks to his tenacity and his excellence in training and skill. And because of that, one of the perpetrators was wounded in this interaction and was incarcerated when he came in to get medical treatment," Noem added.
"I'm calling on every single mayor and sanctuary city and sanctuary governor to change their policies and to change their tactics right now," she also said. "Their job is to take an oath to protect the public, to protect families that are out there every single day trying to provide for each other and to try to live the American dream. And they want to do so safely in their own communities. How many more lives will it take? How many more people have to be hurt and victimized before we have public safety? When I look at what Mayor Adams has done to New York City, it breaks my heart to see the families that have suffered because of his policies."
"We can look across this country at other mayors. We look at Mayor Wu in Boston and what has happened there under her watch, what's happened in LA with the riots and the violence and the protests that have gone on because of Mayor Bass and what she has perpetuated. When you look at Mayor Johnson in Chicago and how devastating it is to live in that city in some of those poorest communities, how they suffer every single day with the violence that's in front of them," Noem said.
Nunez was also injured during the shootout and was shot in the leg and groin. He was dropped off at a hospital in the Bronx, according to authorities.
"Suspect Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez is a national and citizen of the Dominican Republic. RE ENTERED and RELEASED under Biden— on April 4, 2023 the United States Border Patrol apprehended him at/near San Luis, AZ," Noem wrote on X prior to the hospital visit.
"This criminal has a criminal warrant in Massachusetts for kidnapping and had been charged with a series of offenses," she added.
After being apprehended at the Arizona border, Nunez was released into the U.S., though he still has an active deportation order.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams described Nunez as a "21-year-old male has prior arrests for assault and violating an order protection."
At the time of this shooting, he had an active bench warrant from the Bronx, was wanted for a robbery from last December, and [a] stabbing from January," Adams also said. "He has inflicted violence in our city and once he is charged for last night's crimes, we will be able to add attempted murder to his rap sheet," the mayor added.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the shooting Sunday afternoon, writing that "an incredible CBP Officer was shot in the face by an Illegal Alien Monster freed into the Country under Joe Biden."
"The CBP Officer bravely fought off his attacker, despite his wounds, demonstrating enormous Skill and Courage," Trump wrote.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
5 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
FACT FOCUS: Trump claims cashless bail increases crime, but data is inconclusive
As his administration faces mounting pressure to release Justice Department files related the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, President Donald Trump is highlighting a different criminal justice issue — cashless bail. He suggested in a Truth Social post this week that eliminating cash bail as a condition of pretrial release from jail has led to rising crime in U.S. cities that have enacted these reforms. However, studies have shown no clear link. Here's a closer look at the facts. TRUMP: 'Crime in American Cities started to significantly rise when they went to CASHLESS BAIL. The WORST criminals are flooding our streets and endangering even our great law enforcement officers. It is a complete disaster, and must be ended, IMMEDIATELY!' THE FACTS: Data has not determined the impact of cashless bail on crime rates. But experts say it is incorrect to claim that there is an adverse connection. 'I don't know of any valid studies corroborating the President's claim and would love to know what the Administration offers in support,' said Kellen Funk, a professor at Columbia Law School who studies pretrial procedure and bail bonding. 'In my professional judgment I'd call the claim demonstrably false and inflammatory.' Jeff Clayton, executive director of the American Bail Coalition, the main lobbying arm of the cash bail industry, also pointed to a lack of evidence. 'Studies are inconclusive in terms of whether bail reforms have had an impact on overall crime numbers,' he said. 'This is due to pretrial crime being a small subset of overall crime. It is also difficult to categorize reforms as being 'cashless' or not, i.e., policies where preventative detention is introduced as an alternative to being held on bail.' Different jurisdictions, different laws In 2023, Illinois became the first state to completely eliminate cash bail when the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law abolishing it. The move was part of an expansive criminal justice overhaul adopted in 2021 known as the SAFE-T Act. Under the change, a judge decides whether to release the defendant prior to their trial, weighing factors such as their criminal charges, if they could pose any danger to others and if they are considered a flight risk. Loyola University of Chicago's Center for Criminal Justice published a 2024 report on Illinois' new cashless bail policy, one year after it went into effect. It acknowledges that there is not yet enough data to know what impact the law has had on crime, but that crime in Illinois did not increase after its implementation. Violent and property crime declined in some counties. A number of other jurisdictions, including New Jersey, New Mexico and Washington, D.C., have nearly eliminated cash bail or limited its use. Many include exceptions for high-level crimes. Proponents of eliminating cash bail describe it as a penalty on poverty, suggesting that the wealthy can pay their way out of jail to await trial while those with fewer financial resources have to sit it out behind bars. Critics have argued that bail is a time-honored way to ensure defendants released from jail show up for court proceedings. They warn that violent criminals will be released pending trial, giving them license to commit other crimes. A lack of consensus Studies have shown mixed results regarding the impact of cashless bail on crime. Many focus on the recidivism of individual defendants rather than overall crime rates. A 2024 report published by the Brennan Center for Justice saw 'no statistically significant relationship' between bail reform and crime rates. It looked at crime rate data from 2015 through 2021 for 33 cities across the U.S., 22 of which had instituted some type of bail reform. Researchers used a statistical method to determine if crime rates had diverged in those with reforms and those without. Ames Grawert, the report's co-author and senior counsel in the Brennan Center's Justice Program, said this conclusion "holds true for trends in crime overall or specifically violent crime.' Similarly, a 2023 paper published in the American Economic Journal found no evidence that cash bail helps ensure defendants will show up in court or prevents crime among those who are released while awaiting trial. The paper evaluated the impact of a 2018 policy instituted by the Philadelphia's district attorney that instructed prosecutors not to set bail for certain offenses. A 2019 court decree in Harris County, Texas, requires most people charged with a misdemeanor to be released without bail while awaiting trial. The latest report from the monitoring team responsible for tracking the impact of this decision, released in 2024, notes that the number of people arrested for misdemeanors has declined by more than 15% since 2015. The number of those rearrested within one year has similarly declined, with rearrest rates remaining stable in recent years. Asked what data Trump was using to support his claim, the White House pointed to a 2022 report from the district attorney's office in Yolo County, California, that looked at how a temporary cashless bail system implemented across the state to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in courts and jails impacted recidivism. It found that out of 595 individuals released between April 2020 and May 2021 under this system, 70.6% were arrested again after they were released. A little more than half were rearrested more than once. A more recent paper, published in February by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, also explored the effects of California's decision to suspend most bail during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reports that implementation of this policy 'caused notable increases in both the likelihood and number of rearrests within 30 days.' However, a return to cash bail did not impact the number of rearrests for any type of offense. The paper acknowledges that other factors, such as societal disruption from the pandemic, could have contributed to the initial increase. Many contributing factors It is difficult to pinpoint specific explanations for why crime rises and falls. The American Bail Coalition's Clayton noted that other policies that have had a negative impact on crime, implemented concurrently with bail reforms, make it 'difficult to isolate or elevate one or more causes over the others.' Paul Heaton, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies criminal justice interventions, had a similar outlook. 'Certainly there are some policy levers that people look at — the size of the police force and certain policies around sentencing,' he said. 'But there's a lot of variation in crime that I think even criminologists don't necessarily fully understand.'
Hamilton Spectator
5 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
FACT FOCUS: Trump claims cashless bail increases crime, but data is inconclusive
As his administration faces mounting pressure to release Justice Department files related the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, President Donald Trump is highlighting a different criminal justice issue — cashless bail. He suggested in a Truth Social post this week that eliminating cash bail as a condition of pretrial release from jail has led to rising crime in U.S. cities that have enacted these reforms. However, studies have shown no clear link. Here's a closer look at the facts. TRUMP: 'Crime in American Cities started to significantly rise when they went to CASHLESS BAIL. The WORST criminals are flooding our streets and endangering even our great law enforcement officers. It is a complete disaster, and must be ended, IMMEDIATELY!' THE FACTS: Data has not determined the impact of cashless bail on crime rates. But experts say it is incorrect to claim that there is an adverse connection. 'I don't know of any valid studies corroborating the President's claim and would love to know what the Administration offers in support,' said Kellen Funk, a professor at Columbia Law School who studies pretrial procedure and bail bonding. 'In my professional judgment I'd call the claim demonstrably false and inflammatory.' Jeff Clayton, executive director of the American Bail Coalition, the main lobbying arm of the cash bail industry, also pointed to a lack of evidence. 'Studies are inconclusive in terms of whether bail reforms have had an impact on overall crime numbers,' he said. 'This is due to pretrial crime being a small subset of overall crime. It is also difficult to categorize reforms as being 'cashless' or not, i.e., policies where preventative detention is introduced as an alternative to being held on bail.' Different jurisdictions, different laws In 2023, Illinois became the first state to completely eliminate cash bail when the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law abolishing it. The move was part of an expansive criminal justice overhaul adopted in 2021 known as the SAFE-T Act . Under the change, a judge decides whether to release the defendant prior to their trial, weighing factors such as their criminal charges, if they could pose any danger to others and if they are considered a flight risk. Loyola University of Chicago's Center for Criminal Justice published a 2024 report on Illinois' new cashless bail policy, one year after it went into effect. It acknowledges that there is not yet enough data to know what impact the law has had on crime, but that crime in Illinois did not increase after its implementation. Violent and property crime declined in some counties. A number of other jurisdictions , including New Jersey, New Mexico and Washington, D.C., have nearly eliminated cash bail or limited its use. Many include exceptions for high-level crimes. Proponents of eliminating cash bail describe it as a penalty on poverty , suggesting that the wealthy can pay their way out of jail to await trial while those with fewer financial resources have to sit it out behind bars. Critics have argued that bail is a time-honored way to ensure defendants released from jail show up for court proceedings. They warn that violent criminals will be released pending trial, giving them license to commit other crimes. A lack of consensus Studies have shown mixed results regarding the impact of cashless bail on crime. Many focus on the recidivism of individual defendants rather than overall crime rates. A 2024 report published by the Brennan Center for Justice saw 'no statistically significant relationship' between bail reform and crime rates. It looked at crime rate data from 2015 through 2021 for 33 cities across the U.S., 22 of which had instituted some type of bail reform. Researchers used a statistical method to determine if crime rates had diverged in those with reforms and those without. Ames Grawert, the report's co-author and senior counsel in the Brennan Center's Justice Program, said this conclusion 'holds true for trends in crime overall or specifically violent crime.' Similarly, a 2023 paper published in the American Economic Journal found no evidence that cash bail helps ensure defendants will show up in court or prevents crime among those who are released while awaiting trial. The paper evaluated the impact of a 2018 policy instituted by the Philadelphia's district attorney that instructed prosecutors not to set bail for certain offenses. A 2019 court decree in Harris County, Texas, requires most people charged with a misdemeanor to be released without bail while awaiting trial. The latest report from the monitoring team responsible for tracking the impact of this decision, released in 2024, notes that the number of people arrested for misdemeanors has declined by more than 15% since 2015. The number of those rearrested within one year has similarly declined, with rearrest rates remaining stable in recent years. Asked what data Trump was using to support his claim, the White House pointed to a 2022 report from the district attorney's office in Yolo County, California, that looked at how a temporary cashless bail system implemented across the state to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in courts and jails impacted recidivism. It found that out of 595 individuals released between April 2020 and May 2021 under this system, 70.6% were arrested again after they were released. A little more than half were rearrested more than once. A more recent paper, published in February by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, also explored the effects of California's decision to suspend most bail during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reports that implementation of this policy 'caused notable increases in both the likelihood and number of rearrests within 30 days.' However, a return to cash bail did not impact the number of rearrests for any type of offense. The paper acknowledges that other factors, such as societal disruption from the pandemic, could have contributed to the initial increase. Many contributing factors It is difficult to pinpoint specific explanations for why crime rises and falls. The American Bail Coalition's Clayton noted that other policies that have had a negative impact on crime, implemented concurrently with bail reforms, make it 'difficult to isolate or elevate one or more causes over the others.' Paul Heaton, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies criminal justice interventions, had a similar outlook. 'Certainly there are some policy levers that people look at — the size of the police force and certain policies around sentencing,' he said. 'But there's a lot of variation in crime that I think even criminologists don't necessarily fully understand.' ___ Find AP Fact Checks here: . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Newsweek
6 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Thailand-Cambodia Clash Tests US Against Growing China Influence in Asia
Based on factual reporting, incorporates the expertise of the journalist and may offer interpretations and conclusions. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A deadly and dramatic escalation in a decades-long border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is the latest challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to enforce a more peaceful international order. But the fiery bout in Southeast Asia also marks a test for Washington's waning influence in a region viewed as a crucial theater in a geopolitical competition between the United States and China. "This crisis represents a critical test of American and Chinese influence in Southeast Asia," Sophal Ear, a regional expert and associate professor at Arizona State University's Thunderbird School of Management, told Newsweek. "For the U.S., Thailand is a key strategic partner, essential to sustaining American military and diplomatic presence in the region," Ear said. "For China, Cambodia is a central player in its regional ambitions under the Belt and Road Initiative, serving as a strategic foothold." He argued that "both powers recognize significant stakes: instability could undermine their respective regional alliances and economic interests, while an overly aggressive stance risks deepening geopolitical competition." A Cambodian soldier stands on a truck carrying a Russian-made BM-21 rocket launcher traveling along a street in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25, 2025. A Cambodian soldier stands on a truck carrying a Russian-made BM-21 rocket launcher traveling along a street in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25, 2025. TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images Another U.S. Setback The latest Thailand-Cambodia border dispute dates back to 1907, when a map drawn during French colonial rule in Cambodia marked a boundary still cited by Cambodian officials today. Thai officials dispute this demarcation and claim territory beyond it, including ancient Khmer-era Hindu temples, such as Preah Vihear, despite two International Court of Justice rulings favoring Cambodia's claims. Their rivalry has played out against the backdrop of broader international conflicts among world powers, including World War II and the Cold War. A decade before the U.S. war in Vietnam, then divided between a communist north and a nationalist south, Thailand joined the U.S.-backed Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), serving as a bulwark against the spread of communism in the region. North Vietnam would emerge victorious against the U.S., uniting the nation and quickly going to war with the rival China-backed Khmer Rouge communist leadership of Cambodia, leading to its downfall. Thailand, meanwhile, remained a staunch ally of the U.S. anti-communist posturing in Asia. However, its prominence in Washington's foreign policy has declined in recent decades, particularly as the U.S. has intensified its relations with its former foe, Vietnam. China, meanwhile, has invested heavily in ties with all countries in the region, including Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. However, as Beijing's growing global presence occupies a larger space in U.S. foreign policy, some argue that its attention to Thailand has been sidelined. "I think the U.S. already flunked the test and that should be a wakeup call," Evan Feigenbaum, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department, told Newsweek. "Because if the U.S. frame on Southeast Asia is that it's all about fighting the proxy fight with China for influence," he said, "the fact that the U.S. is now missing in action and really has no leverage to bring to bear on either party, should tell you everything." Royal Thai Army soldiers are pictured on U.S.-built M1126 armored vehicles on a road in Chachoengsao province on July 24, 2025. Royal Thai Army soldiers are pictured on U.S.-built M1126 armored vehicles on a road in Chachoengsao province on July 24, 2025. LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images China's Balancing Act Both the U.S. and China have called for de-escalation since the fighting first erupted Thursday, with at least 15 killed and dozens wounded. The Thai military has since claimed that more than 100 Cambodian soldiers have been killed as fighting spread throughout their rugged border, spanning some 500 miles. "The United States is gravely concerned by reports of the escalating fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border," the State Department said in a statement issued Thursday. "We are particularly alarmed by reports of harm to innocent civilians," the statement added. "We express our deepest condolences on the loss of life. We strongly urge the immediate cessation of attacks, protection of civilians, and peaceful settlement of disputes." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the situation "deeply distressing and concerning" and urged a "calm and careful handling." At the same time, he argued that the "issue lies in the legacy left by Western colonial powers." "As a mutual neighbor and friend to both Cambodia and Thailand, China is committed to maintaining an objective and impartial stance, and will continue to play a constructive role in helping to de-escalate tensions and ease the situation," Wang said Friday during a meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair Kao Kim Hourn, who is seeking to mediate the conflict. While Cambodia is traditionally viewed as a close partner of China, Beijing's neutrality is also informed by its efforts to maintain and develop close relations with Thailand. "The more logical model for [China], where their interests are threatened is to just kind of bring the hammer down quietly," Feigenbaum said. "But I think their calculation would be that they would pay a cost with both they really don't want to take sides between these two, because they want good relations with both of them." "So, they'd either have to bring pressure to bear on both of them simultaneously, or choose a side," he added. "The latter is not an option for them." Further complicating any external role are the charged domestic politics that have helped fuel tensions to the point of open conflict. After frictions intensified in May when an exchange of cross-border fire led to the death of a Cambodian soldier, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was caught in a leaked phone call addressing Cambodian Senate President and former Prime Minister Hun Sen with terms of endearment and criticizing Thai military leadership. The incident led to her suspension from office and has threatened her already fragile ruling coalition. As for whether the U.S. could step in where China was hesitant, Feigenbaum was doubtful, seeing Beijing as now closer to Washington's oldest ally in Asia. "The U.S. really doesn't have the influence anymore on Thailand, so the idea that Thailand is some kind of U.S. proxy is nonsense," he said. "And meanwhile, China has a good relationship with the royal family in Thailand, they're the number one trading partner. They're the number one investment partner." "The U.S. is still important economically," he said," but in relative terms, China, in a lot of ways, has become much more important." Risk of Escalation Derek Grossman, a former U.S. intelligence official now serving as a professor at the University of Southern California, also believed that the Thailand-Cambodia conflict had yet to escalate to a Cold War-style proxy conflict, similar to the one the U.S. engaged in against China and the Soviet Union in Vietnam. At the same time, he warned that the situation had the potential to further drag in the world's top two powers should it continue to escalate. "While it is true that Thailand is a security ally of the U.S. and Cambodia is a close partner of China, both Washington and Beijing have called for an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation," Grossman told Newsweek, "and thus there isn't a proxy struggle playing out to achieve strategic advantage in Indochina—at least not yet." "That said, if the conflict worsens, it's likely that the U.S. and China would deepen their support for their respective friends," Grossman added. "Beijing has already said, for example, that the reason for the conflict was due to Western colonialism—a clear knock against powers external to the region." Grossman also noted how Thailand has thus far turned down international mediation efforts in favor of direct talks, a tactic he said could be attributed to the belief that it "has the upper hand militarily and that it has Washington in its corner if the crisis escalates." Meanwhile, Ear warned that, "if China hawks frame it as U.S.-ally Thailand v. China-backed Cambodia, this might be seen as a proxy war brewing even though this has nothing to do with China," while noting the most likely path for both Beijing and Washington was "to encourage diplomacy and de-escalation." "The career diplomats are busy writing their statements, I'm sure," Ear said. "I just hope the politicos aren't too preoccupied between Epstein files, to pay the attention to this regional conflict."
