Federal immigration officials say New York City released a man from Guinea charged with assaulting a police officer, even though Immigration and Customs Enforcement had asked to be notified before he was let go.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a press release Wednesday that ICE lodged a detainer with Queens Central Booking on October 7 for Alpha Bah after his arrest that day. Bah faces charges of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, and theft of services for allegedly trying to obtain transportation without paying.
According to DHS, the New York Police Department did not honor the detainer and released Bah without notifying ICE. He remains at large, and ICE officers are now searching for him.
DHS said this was not the first time local authorities had declined to cooperate with ICE on Bah. He was arrested on June 15, 2026, on a charge of intent to obtain transportation without paying; ICE lodged a detainer with Manhattan Central Booking, but the NYPD released him without honoring it. Earlier still, on January 5, 2025, Bah was arrested on a criminal trespass charge and released before ICE could file a detainer.
Broader Pattern Cited by DHS
DHS said the Bah case fits a larger pattern in New York, which it described as a sanctuary jurisdiction that frequently declines to honor ICE detainers. The agency cited data showing that from January 20, 2025, to October 8, 2026, New York did not honor 16,070 detainers. DHS said those detainers were tied to 52,503 total criminal charges and convictions, spanning offenses from DUIs and burglaries to homicides, kidnappings, sexual offenses, robberies, and assaults.
New York City’s sanctuary policies generally limit when local law enforcement can cooperate with ICE detainer requests, including notifying the agency before releasing someone from custody. Supporters of such policies argue they encourage immigrant communities to cooperate with local police without fear of deportation; critics, including DHS under the current administration, argue they allow people with serious criminal charges to avoid federal custody.
ICE has not announced an arrest of Bah as of this writing.
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