New York Releases 7,000 Criminal Migrants without Warning - Including Rapists and Killers

December 2, 2025 – Washington, D.C.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) dropped the bombshell on Monday, disclosing to the New York Post that New York authorities had quietly released nearly 7,000 migrants with serious criminal records over recent months—granting them bail, parole, or outright freedom—while ignoring ICE detainers that would have kept them in federal custody for deportation. Among those cut loose: individuals convicted of heinous crimes like rape, murder, and child sexual abuse, now wandering communities across the state and beyond, according to DHS officials. "These aren't petty offenders; these are the worst of the worst," fumed Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin in a statement, echoing a series of recent ICE press releases highlighting arrests of similar criminals nationwide.

The federal outcry reached a fever pitch with a pointed letter from ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has faced her own legal battles, including a recent indictment by the Trump administration that was ultimately dismissed. Lyons demanded that James prioritize "the safety of Americans first" by honoring outstanding ICE detainers for an additional 7,113 criminal migrants still languishing in state prisons and jails. "New York's refusal to cooperate has turned our streets into a roulette wheel for public safety," Lyons wrote, calling the releases a "direct betrayal" of federal immigration law and endangering lives from New York City to upstate suburbs.

New York officials, staunch defenders of the state's sanctuary policies—enacted to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation—pushed back swiftly. A spokesperson for Governor Kathy Hochul's office decried the federal move as "political theater" designed to stoke fear ahead of midterm elections, insisting that releases were handled through standard judicial processes and that many individuals posed no ongoing threat. "We won't be bullied into abandoning due process or our values," the spokesperson said, pointing to data showing recidivism rates among released migrants remain low. Yet, critics, including South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, seized on the news to amplify calls for drastic measures, with Noem tweeting demands for a "full travel ban" on nations she accused of "flooding" the U.S. with "killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies."

This isn't the first flashpoint in the sanctuary showdown. DHS has ramped up enforcement since Trump's inauguration, boasting a string of high-profile arrests over holidays and weekends—snaring murderers, pedophiles, rapists, and drug traffickers in operations dubbed "Making America Safe Again." Just last week, over Thanksgiving, ICE touted the takedown of more such offenders, underscoring the agency's round-the-clock mission. But New York's defiance stands out: Recent raids in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods like Queens' Corona and Brooklyn's Sunset Park have met fierce protests, with demonstrators blocking agents and leading to several arrests.

The standoff lays bare the fractures in America's immigration apparatus. With over 425,000 convicted criminals among the undocumented population nationwide— including more than 13,000 murderers and 15,000 rapists, per earlier ICE reports—the releases in New York threaten to supercharge Trump's deportation machine. Legal experts predict court battles ahead, as states like New York test the limits of federal supremacy under the Constitution.

17GEN4