Immigration officers called the New York City Police Department for backup after a group of local residents surrounded them in an apparent attempt to interfere with the arrest of a criminal alien.
Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers working in Queens arrested 35-year-old Hardat Sampat. The Guyanese national is accused of burglary and illegal re-entry after removal, according to a report by the New York Daily News. As officers took the foreign national into custody, his wife began to plead for his arrest, attracting the attention of others nearby.
More than 30 local residents surrounded the officers and began shouting at them, attempting to stop the arrest. Officers called New York police officers to assist them controlling the crowd.
The sanctuary New York City Department of Correction (NYCDOC) released Sampat from custody despite an immigration detainer being put in place by U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) officials, according to an official ICE statement reported by PIX11 News. ICE stated Sampat has multiple pending charges with the Queens County Criminal Court.
Sampat had been a passenger in a vehicle when officers began to make the arrest. In an attempt to interfere with the arrest the ICE officers, his wife reportedly moved the car to block traffic, NBC4 New York reported. Responding NYPD officers instructed the driver to move the vehicle and clear the roadway. The driver complied with the police order.
ICE officers quickly left the scene with Sampat in custody. Officers transported the Guyanese national to the Manhattan Federal Court for processing, the New York Daily News reported. He is expected to be held at an immigration detention facility in New Jersey, relatives told reporters.
Reports indicate Sampat allegedly burglarized the home of a 37-year-old woman he knew on April 9. He allegedly broke into her home a second time and vandalized the home with white spray paint. ICE officers arrested him as he attempted to go to a court hearing on the cases.
Since a February announcement by New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill that his officers would no longer cooperate with ICE officials attempt to arrest criminal aliens, the agency has ignored more than 130 immigration detainers and released the criminals onto the streets of New York. This number is as of the April 7 ICE Declined Detainer Outcome Report. The report has since been paused pending adjustments to the data gathering methodology.
Late last week, ICE officers arrested a registered sex offender the NYCDOC released, despite an immigration detainer issued by ERO officers, Breitbart Texas reported.
“It is unfortunate that we continue to arrest convicted criminals off the street simply because the city refuses to honor detainers and releases them back into our communities,” New York ERO Field Officer Director Thomas R. Decker said. “Each time an officer is forced to pick up someone who could have safely been turned over it puts the officers’ safety, as well as the safety of the neighborhoods we serve, at risk. ICE strives to strengthen its relationships with local law enforcement entities in the interest of public safety.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.
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