DHS Says NYC Released Guinean Man Charged With Assaulting Officer Despite ICE Request

The Department of Homeland Security says New York City authorities released a man accused of assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon, despite a federal request to keep him in custody. According to information obtained first by Fox News Digital, the man, Alpha Bah, a Guinean national in the country illegally, has not been located.

Bah was arrested on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and intent to obtain transportation without paying. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer request with Queens Central Booking on Oct. 7, 2026. DHS says the New York City Police Department did not honor the detainer and let Bah go without telling ICE.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the decision in comments to Fox News Digital. "This is the vision of sanctuary politicians in a nutshell," he said, arguing that Biden administration border policies let Bah into the country and that New York officials then released him after his arrest without notifying ICE. In a separate statement, Mullin said the city refused to honor the detainer and that Bah "remains at large."

Mullin also directed a message at state and city leaders. He called on Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to "knock it off with these evil sanctuary policies before another American gets hurt, or worse."

According to DHS, this was the second time ICE asked for Bah to be held. He was charged with intent to obtain transportation without paying in June 2026, and ICE lodged a detainer with Manhattan Central Booking after that arrest. The NYPD released him then as well.

DHS says Bah entered the United States illegally in November 2023 and lived in Arizona before the U.S. Border Patrol arrested him. He was arrested again in January 2025 for criminal trespassing, but DHS says he was released before ICE could request a detainer, a result it attributes to Biden-era policies.

The department said the case should lead all pro-sanctuary politicians, not only Hochul and Mamdani, to reconsider rules that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Hochul, a Democrat, has backed restrictions on cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration officials. In May, she signed legislation that bars New York law enforcement agencies from entering into official agreements with ICE. Mamdani has also supported sanctuary policies and signed an executive order to "reaffirm the city's commitment to being a sanctuary for all New Yorkers." The order made it harder to access data on illegal immigrants, restricted federal immigration enforcement on city property and created an audit to verify that city agencies comply.

Responding to such policies, DHS said ICE partnerships with local law enforcement are key to removing criminal illegal aliens from American communities, and claimed that "7 of the 10 safest cities in the U.S. cooperate with ICE." Neither Hochul's nor Mamdani's office had immediately responded to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.