New York Ignores Nearly 15,000 Detainer Requests for Immigrants Facing Felony Charges, DHS Chief Says

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Friday that New York state officials have refused to honor any detainer requests from his department for immigrants in their custody, many of whom are accused of serious crimes.

Mullin stated that the Department of Homeland Security has issued 14,766 detainers to New York law enforcement entities for migrants facing a combined total of 47,750 felony charges. "Silence. Absolute silence is what we’ve got from New York off of those retainers," Mullin told reporters at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.

"So you have to ask yourself, why would they release these individuals back onto the streets? They’re illegals,” Mullin said. “They have no right to be back into the United States. They’ve committed a crime. We know that they’re the worst, the worst."

The secretary’s remarks followed an incident in the Bronx where a suspected gang member, Oscar Belgal, 28, was shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers while a 5-year-old boy was present in the back of his SUV.