New York City is grappling with an influx of migrant criminals, according to Kenneth Genalo, head of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) NYC field office.
Speaking in his first interview since Donald Trump’s election, Genalo painted a dire picture of the city’s immigration enforcement challenges, emphasizing the urgent need for additional resources.
“In New York City, it would take a lifetime to clear the city of the criminals that we have,” Genalo said according to the New York Post.
The 33-year ICE veteran, who oversees nearly 400 staffers as regional director, underscored that current limitations force his team to focus solely on the “worst of the worst,” leaving thousands of criminal cases unaddressed.
Of the 7.8 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, 662,586 are either convicted felons or face pending criminal charges, according to ICE data from July 2023.
In New York City alone, more than 223,000 migrants have arrived since the spring of 2022. While at least 58,000 remain in taxpayer-funded shelters, ICE has not disclosed the exact number of criminals among them.
Genalo hinted at the staggering scale of the problem, admitting that the number of criminal leads in the city far