DHS condemns New York politicians for releasing illegal alien Alpha Bah

DHS condemns New York politicians for releasing illegal alien Alpha Bah

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally condemned New York sanctuary politicians for releasing Alpha Bah, an illegal alien from Guinea, after he was arrested for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon. Despite a detainer lodged by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the New York City Police Department released Bah from jail without notifying federal authorities, leaving him at large.

This incident is the latest flashpoint in a widening conflict between federal immigration enforcement and New York’s “shield” policies.

A pattern of release and re-offending

Alpha Bah’s history with New York law enforcement reveals a recurring gap in the hand-off between local arrests and federal removal. On October 7, Bah was arrested for aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, and intent to obtain transportation without paying. ICE immediately lodged a detainer with Queens Central Booking, but the NYPD ignored the request and released him.

This wasn’t Bah’s first encounter with the system. He was arrested on June 15, 2026, for intent to obtain transportation without paying; again, the NYPD refused to honor an ICE detainer at Manhattan Central Booking. Even earlier, on January 5, 2025, he was arrested for criminal trespass and released before a detainer could even be lodged. Bah originally entered the U.S. illegally through Arizona in November 2023, where he was arrested by Border Patrol before being released into the interior by the Biden Administration.

“This is the vision of sanctuary politicians in a nutshell: the open-border policies of the Biden Administration let this criminal into our country, and then sanctuary politicians in New York released him after arresting him without notifying ICE,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin

The scale of ignored detainers in New York

While the Bah case is a singular example, the data provided by DHS suggests a massive operational failure. Between January 20, 2025, and October 8, 2026, the state of New York failed to honor 16,070 ICE detainers. The human cost of these releases is reflected in the 52,503 criminal charges and convictions associated with those specific individuals.

Offense Category Associated Charges/Convictions
Assaults 9,502
Dangerous Drugs 4,324
Weapons Offenses 2,198
Robberies 1,776
Burglaries 1,631
DUIs 1,561
Sexual Offenses 1,017
Kidnappings 132
Homicides 131

Legislating the shield

The current environment is not accidental; it is the result of specific executive and legislative actions. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an Executive Order that effectively shields illegal aliens from federal ICE detainers. This local policy is reinforced by state law. After Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons warned New York Attorney General Letitia James and other state leaders in December 2025 about the failure to honor detainers, Governor Kathy Hochul responded not with cooperation, but with legislation.

In May 2026, Governor Hochul signed a law that bars local police departments from partnering or cooperating with ICE. This law, which took effect on August 25, 2026, essentially punishes law enforcement officers who attempt to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

The evidence provided by DHS points to several high-profile failures: a member of the Latin Kings gang released after assault charges, a four-time deported alien who shoved an 83-year-old veteran to his death on subway tracks, and an individual who raped and robbed a corpse on the subway before being sentenced in June 2026.

Liaison immigration alpha bellechasse

Impact beyond New York borders

The consequences of New York’s sanctuary status are leaking into other states, primarily through the issuance of government documents. DHS reports that New York has issued Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to illegal aliens who then caused chaos across the country.

  • Indiana: Sukhdev Singh, an illegal alien from India with a New York-issued CDL, caused a crash that left a U.S. citizen in critical condition.
  • Oklahoma: Anmol Anmol, an illegal alien from India, was arrested in October 2025 after receiving a New York CDL that listed him as “No Name Given Anmol.”
  • Pennsylvania: Simranpal Singh, another illegal alien from India, was arrested in September after receiving a CDL from New York.

Perhaps the most cited failure is that of Jose Antonio Ibarra, a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. After being arrested by the NYPD for reckless driving with a child, he was released under sanctuary policies. Six months later, in February 2024, Ibarra murdered nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia.

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