ICE chief rips NYC sanctuary rules as agents tackle criminal migrants on Brooklyn streets

With New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani escalating opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE agents continue high-stakes street arrests in Brooklyn that a top local ICE official says could be avoided if the city cooperated instead of enforcing sanctuary policies.

Fox News Digital embedded with ICE last week for surveillance, stakeouts, and split-second arrests on Brooklyn streets — riding along with Ken Genalo, head of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in New York City, as he blasted city and state leaders over rules he says put officers and the public at risk. In one early-morning operation, agents moved on two men, cuffing them into unmarked SUVs; the first arrest took seconds, the second turned into a struggle.

Genalo argued sanctuary laws force agents to hunt suspects on city streets who should have been transferred from local jails, and accused local leaders of putting politics over public safety. Mamdani has called ICE a "rogue" agency and recently released a Spanish-language video advising New Yorkers how to respond to ICE agents.