Noem blames NY officials, ‘sanctuary city policies' for off-duty Border Patrol agent's shooting
Noem said in a statement Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have 'caught' a second suspect connected to the shooting early that morning.
Noem identified the individual as Christian Aybar-Berroa, an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic with a significant criminal record, and lamented that he had not been apprehended sooner.
'Christhian Aybar-Berroa, is an illegal from the Dominican Republic. He entered the country illegally in 2022 under the Biden Administration and was ordered for final removed in 2023 by an immigration judge,' Noem wrote in a statement on the social platform X on Monday.
'He has a criminal record in New York City and detainers were IGNORED thanks to @ericadamsfornyc sanctuary city policies,' Noem continued, referring to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who is running for reelection as an independent candidate.
'He was arrested for reckless endangerment and larceny and was released before ICE could get him off the streets,' Noem added.
Noem reiterated that sentiment at a press conference Monday.
'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. 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,' Noem said at the press conference.
'Make no mistake, this officer is in the hospital today, fighting for his life because of the policies of the mayor of this city and the city council and the people that were in charge of keeping the public safe, they refused to do so, and now we have the situation on our hand where someone who has dedicated their lives to protecting the public is now fighting for his own,' she continued.
A 42-year-old Border Patrol officer was injured late Saturday in what officials described as an apparent botched robbery in a park under the George Washington Bridge.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the officer was shot in the face and the arm after he was approached by two men on a moped while sitting with a woman in a park just before midnight. When one man got off and approached the officer, the officer drew his service weapon and the two exchanged fire, officials said.
Police said the man attempting the robbery was injured before he drove away with the moped driver.
Police earlier took a person of interest, 21-year-old Miguel Mora, into custody after he arrived at a Bronx hospital to be treated for wounds to the groin and leg. Officials had been looking for the second suspect connected to the shooting through the weekend.
Mora is an immigrant living in the country illegally and has an extensive criminal history, Tisch said, adding that he entered the U.S. illegally through Arizona in 2023 and was arrested twice in New York for domestic violence.
He was also wanted in New York on accusations of robbery and felony assault, Tisch said. In Massachusetts, he was wanted in a case involving stolen weapons.
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2014 signed a sanctuary city bill, which remains the law in New York City, even as Adams has stressed his interest in cooperating with the Trump administration to enforce its immigration agenda.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
28 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
He was ‘trying to stay alive.' Family memorializes man who died in Camarillo immigration raid
Oxnard — In a ceremony that ended in tears and hugs, the family of Jaime Alanís Garcia said goodbye to the father of one who died after trying to escape from federal agents during an immigration raid at the Glass House Farms in Camarillo. Dozens of Alanís Garcia's family members, friends and community members attended the wake at the Camino del Sol Funeral Home in Oxnard. Family members remembered him as a joyful, hardworking man whose death came too soon. 'He was hiding, trying to stay alive,' said his niece, Yesenia Duran. 'He was loved by the community.' On July 10, federal immigration agents raided two cannabis greenhouse operations owned by Glass House Farms, setting off an intense, hours-long standoff between federal agents and protesters outside of the company's Camarillo site. More than 300 undocumented workers were detained, federal officials said, and protesters were injured after agents outside the property shot off tear gas canisters and less-lethal bullets. Alanís Garcia, 56, was fatally injured when he climbed atop a greenhouse and accidentally fell 30 feet while fleeing immigration agents at Glass House, his family said. He was taken to the Ventura County Medical Center, where he was put on life support. Duran announced his death on July 12. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has weighed in, saying that the government would consider legal action against the U.S. after his death. 'This is unacceptable,' she said. The Department of Homeland Security has said that Alanís Garcia was not among those being pursued and that federal agents called in a medevac for him. Duran pushed back on that narrative, saying that they were waiting for more answers and witnesses into her uncle's death. 'It was a reckless raid,' she said, one that cost her uncle his life. On Monday, the body of Alanís Garcia rested in a brown casket with white trim, his head covered by a black beanie. His casket was surrounded by dozens of red roses, a hand drawn photo of him surrounded by monarch butterflies and a large arrangement of white flowers in the shape of a cross, a gift from his wife and daughter in Mexico. They are scheduled to soon receive his body, when he is returned to his native country. Isaac Alanis, 28, grew up living near Alanís Garcia, who was his mother's cousin, and came to see him as an uncle. Alanís Garcia would come over for dinner after work nearly every night, around 6 p.m., and he loved all kinds of foods, from menudo and pozole to Chinese food, which he would eat with a fork, because he didn't know how to use chopsticks, Alanis said. Before arriving at Glass House, Alanís Garcia spent 10 years working at a flower nursery, Alanis said. Sometimes, he said, he would join Alanís Garcia at the Oxnard Sunday flea market to walk around and pass the time. His uncle, he said, was an extrovert and was always laughing. 'He was joyful,' Alanis said as he fought back tears. On his phone, he had saved a 2020 video of his uncle dancing at a family gathering. On Monday, Alanis said he felt encouraged by the Mexican president's message, and it strengthened the family's resolve to get answers about the circumstances of his death, he said. He wore a shirt that depicted a photo of his uncle, and on the back, it read, 'justice for Jaime.' The mood was somber at the funeral home. Outside, a hand drawn photo of Alanís Garcia with wings sat among a box of pan dulces. Representatives from the Mexican government arrived and offered words of support and condolences to the family. The Mexican consular staff in Oxnard has said it would provide assistance to Alanis Garcia's family, offering to accompany them both in California and in his home state of Michoacán in central Mexico. A priest led the audience in a rosary service, calling out Hail Marys in Spanish as they prayed for Alanís Garcia and his relatives. The room was full, with many left standing, as they recited the prayer. Many wiped away tears. When it came time to bid a final farewell, family members held each other tightly as they cried into each other's arms. A guitarist serenaded the audience with songs, including one titled, Caminos de Michoacán, Roads of Michoacán, a ranchera song that pays homage to Alanis Garcia's homeland.
The Hill
28 minutes ago
- The Hill
Court allows Trump administration to end deportation protections for Afghans, Cameroonians
An appeals court on Monday cleared the way for the Trump administration to end protections from deportation for Afghans and Cameroonians, declining to bar removals amid a review of the move's legality. The decision will impact more than 10,000 citizens of both countries who remain in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which bars deportation of those who cannot safely return to their country due to civil unrest or a natural disaster. While a lower court had agreed to bar deportations for another week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to continue to bar them while the legal battle continued. 'There is insufficient evidence to warrant the extraordinary remedy of a postponement of agency action pending appeal,' they court wrote. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ended TPS for both countries, with protections for Afghans designed to end last week and protection for Cameroonians set to expire August 4. In doing so, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reversed findings of the Biden administration that each country was too dangerous for its citizens to be returned. Some 9,600 Afghans and nearly 3,500 Cameroonians have TPS, according to The National Immigration Forum. Those impacted will have to apply for asylum or protections under the Convention Against Torture in order to remain in the country. Afghanistan remains under Taliban rule and deteriorating conditions in the country have accelerated since the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, including widespread food insecurity. Many of the roughly 80,000 Afghans who came to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul have adjusted their status, either securing asylum or a special immigrant visa given to those who assisted U.S. military efforts there. 'Thousands of Afghans who served alongside U.S. forces are now at risk of detention and deportation,' Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, said in a statement. 'These are our allies, neighbors, coworkers—people who believed in the promises this country made.' The Biden administration had also cited armed conflict in Cameroon as a rationale for keeping protections there. 'Since 2014, ongoing armed conflict between the Government of Cameroon and nonstate armed groups in the Far North Region, specifically Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has resulted in killings, kidnappings, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure,' the Biden administration wrote in the 2023 re-designation.
Fox News
29 minutes ago
- Fox News
House Republicans warn anti-ICE rhetoric from Democrats is driving violent attacks on agents
President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration and deportation rollout has ignited anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests across the United States. House Republicans told Fox News Digital there is a parallel between Democrats' rhetoric against federal immigration officers amid this crackdown and the surge in violence against ICE and Border Protection (CBP) officers. "The increasingly violent attacks against law enforcement are being egged on by irresponsible Democratic politicians," Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said in an exclusive interview. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday blamed Democrats' "sanctuary city policies" for the shooting of an off-duty CBP officer in New York City. A second illegal immigrant has been apprehended in connection to the shooting of the CBP officer. He was reportedly 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. "Without enforcing our immigration laws, we have no immigration laws," McClintock continued. "Without immigration laws, we have no border, and without a border we have no country. And that's what Americans suffered for four long years with the open borders policies of the Biden administration." Democrat Sens. Alex Padilla and Cory Booker, two of the leading Capitol Hill critics of Trump's illegal immigration crackdown, have introduced legislation that would require immigration enforcement officers to clearly identify themselves without masks. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga, told Fox News Digital that he has "absolutely" seen an increase in violence, explaining that when a member of Congress uses "radical rhetoric," people take it to heart. "We should be applauding them. We should be thankful to them. They are literally removing criminal aliens from our midst and making us a safer nation. And yet these radical Democrats are inflaming the public. And as a result, you're seeing more violence against them. And it's unconscionable that they do that," Clyde said. Federal immigration law enforcement officers have been targeted since Trump signed his "big, beautiful bill" into law, which includes legislation for robust immigration reform. There were at least two ambushes in Texas, and protesters clashed with federal officers at the Portland, Oregon, ICE facility, over the Fourth of July weekend. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., told Fox News Digital that there has been "growing rhetoric by many on the Democratic side" from everyone except Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. Particularly in Los Angeles, Guest pointed to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's and Mayor Karen Bass' anti-ICE rhetoric as protests delved into riots in the West Coast city last month. Bass has signed a series of executive orders aimed at impeding ICE deportation raids in Los Angeles, criticizing the "unconstitutional, reckless raids" and establishing a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) working group that expands resources for families impacted by Trump's deportation rollout. "When we have Democrats constantly attacking our ICE agents for what they're doing, demonizing them for enforcing the law, that is going to create more violence, and the situation is going to get worse and not better," Guest added. Rep. Mariannette Miller‑Meeks, R‑Iowa, added in an interview with Fox News Digital that it's "unreal to me that people are attacking law enforcement agents trying to do their job." She said the emphasis should be on supporting ICE and CBP agents. "Keep the focus on deporting criminal illegals, people that are bad actors that should be out of the country, focusing on the influence of gangs and cartels in this country," Miller-Meeks added, urging her fellow House Republicans to remind Americans that these deportations are necessary due to the surge of illegal immigration under the Biden administration. Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
