Kristi Noem, Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, joins federal action in NYC to detain migrants

Federal agents came to New York City Tuesday to detain foreign migrants who have been charged with crimes, according to President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem.

It’s unclear how many were detained, where they were apprehended or where they’re from.

The detentions are the latest being carried out in cities across the United States, part of Trump’s promise of more aggressive deportation operations than under the Biden administration.

“Arresting some criminal aliens this morning in NYC,” Noem posted in X, tagging various federal law enforcement agencies as well as the NYPD.

She posted video before sunrise of a darkened street and what appear to be the apprehension of someone with “kidnapping, assault & burglary charges” who is “is now in custody.”

“Dirtbags like this will continue to be removed from our streets,” Noem’s post says.

The NYPD did not return a message seeking comment.

Trump has promised to execute the largest deportation operation in American history, starting with those accused or convicted of crimes.

Mayor Eric Adams has said he supports deporting migrants who have committed crimes. His spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak has referred inquiries to federal immigration enforcers.

Since Spring 2022, hundreds of thousands of foreign migrants have come to New York City. Only a small fraction of them have been charged with crimes.

Detentions of those who are accused of crimes isn’t new — it happened before and during the Biden administration — but Trump has promised to ramp it up.

During the most recent fiscal year, under President Biden, there were roughly 80,000 arrests nationwide by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency of those who had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, according to the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Statistics online dashboard.

In New York City, that number was 900, the dashboard says.