NEW YORK – September 6, 2026 (STL.News) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 2,197 people across New York during a monthlong immigration enforcement operation that federal officials say included convicted murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and other serious offenders.
The enforcement initiative, called Operation Rotten Apple, ran from July 27 through Aug. 29 and represented a significant escalation of federal immigration enforcement across New York.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced the results Sept. 1, saying ICE and its federal partners carried out the operation despite what the Trump administration describes as a lack of cooperation from New York state and New York City officials.
The Department of Homeland Security characterized the operation as a public-safety initiative and highlighted numerous people arrested who had serious criminal histories.
However, DHS did not release a complete breakdown showing how many of the 2,197 people arrested had criminal convictions, pending criminal charges, or only immigration violations.
That distinction has become central to the political dispute surrounding Operation Rotten Apple.
Operation Rotten Apple Spanned New York
Operation Rotten Apple was not limited to New York City.
Federal immigration officers conducted enforcement actions across New York state during the approximately 30-day operation.
The effort involved ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations personnel from the agency’s New York City and Buffalo field offices.
Philip Rhoney, acting field office director for ICE ERO Buffalo, said federal authorities were pursuing public-safety threats statewide, including in communities outside New York City.
ICE has not released a detailed geographic breakdown showing exactly how many of the 2,197 arrests occurred in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, upstate New York, or other regions.
North Country Public Radio reported that ICE also had not disclosed how many people arrested during Operation Rotten Apple had pending criminal charges.
The operation nevertheless represented a substantial increase in enforcement.
Federal data obtained by the Deportation Data Project showed approximately 1,550 immigration arrests in New York during July. The 2,197 arrests attributed to Operation Rotten Apple represented an increase of more than 40% from the previous month, according to North Country Public Radio.
DHS Highlights Murder, Rape and Drug Convictions
DHS released information about several people arrested during Operation Rotten Apple whose histories included serious criminal convictions or arrests.
Among those identified was Bogdan Detrovich Gren, a Ukrainian national whose criminal history, according to DHS, includes convictions for kidnapping, abduction resulting in death, criminal possession of a weapon and murder.
DHS also identified Palvinder Singh, an Indian national who federal officials said had been convicted of rape in Germany.
Another person highlighted was Carlos Mendez-Acosta, a Venezuelan national whom DHS said had a rape conviction.
Federal officials identified Chhun Kim Pril, a Cambodian national with a drug-trafficking conviction, and Danilo Antonio Rodriguez, a Dominican national convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin.
DHS also highlighted Hussein Faiad Shaban, a Sierra Leone national whose record reportedly includes convictions for first-degree assault, burglary involving injury, criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession of burglary tools.
Loi Nguyen, a Vietnamese national, was described by DHS as having convictions involving burglary, stolen property, larceny, cocaine possession and receiving a stolen vehicle.
Those descriptions come from DHS and should not be interpreted as establishing the criminal history of every person arrested during the operation.
Some Cases Involved Arrests Rather Than Convictions
The federal government’s own announcement makes another distinction important.
DHS did not describe every individual it highlighted as having been convicted of the serious offense listed.
For example, DHS said Andreas Bernal Chiquito, a Colombian national, had previously been arrested on allegations involving sexual conduct against a child and acting in a manner to injure a child younger than 17.
DHS said Noel Celestino Lopez Martinez, a Mexican national, had been arrested for first-degree rape involving forcible compulsion.
An arrest or criminal charge does not establish guilt. People accused of crimes are presumed innocent unless convicted.
That distinction matters especially when reporting the results of a large immigration operation.
Were All 2,197 Criminal Offenders?
No evidence released publicly by DHS establishes that all 2,197 people arrested during Operation Rotten Apple had criminal convictions.
Mullin himself addressed that issue during the Sept. 1 announcement.
Asked about the criminal histories of those arrested, the homeland security secretary indicated that immigration enforcement was not limited to people with criminal records.
“Regardless if you’re a criminal or not,” Mullin said, people who entered the United States unlawfully remained subject to enforcement.
DHS did not subsequently provide The New York Times with a complete breakdown showing how many people arrested during Operation Rotten Apple had criminal records.
That does not diminish the seriousness of the criminal histories DHS documented among some of those arrested.
It does mean that describing all 2,197 people as convicted criminals would go beyond the information the federal government has publicly released.
Hochul Challenges Federal Characterization
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul challenged the Trump administration’s portrayal of the operation.
Hochul questioned whether the 2,197 people arrested represented people who had committed crimes under New York law.
“There is no way that that number constitutes people who committed crimes the way we consider a crime,” Hochul said following the federal announcement.
Hochul argued that the federal government was treating unlawful immigration status and criminal conduct as equivalent concepts.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani similarly defended the city’s sanctuary policies and accused federal immigration authorities of criminalizing immigrants.
The disagreement reflects a much broader national debate over the appropriate relationship between local police departments and federal immigration authorities.
DHS Blames New York Sanctuary Policies
The Trump administration has made New York’s sanctuary policies central to its justification for increased federal enforcement.
DHS accused Hochul and Mamdani of implementing policies that interfere with cooperation between local authorities and ICE.
The federal agency said those policies have resulted in 13,621 people it characterizes as “criminal illegal aliens” being released from New York jails rather than transferred to federal immigration custody.
That 13,621 figure is a DHS claim and should be attributed accordingly. The federal release did not provide a case-by-case accounting of those releases.
Federal officials argue that when local jails decline to honor immigration detainers or otherwise limit cooperation, ICE agents must locate individuals after they return to the community.
ICE officials say that approach can require more personnel and create greater risks for officers, the individuals being arrested and members of the public.
New York officials argue that separating local policing from federal civil immigration enforcement helps preserve trust between immigrant communities and police.
287(g) Agreements Become Major Battleground
One major dispute involves the federal 287(g) program, which allows participating state and local law enforcement agencies to perform certain immigration enforcement functions under ICE supervision.
Hochul moved to prevent New York law enforcement agencies from entering or maintaining those agreements.
She argued that local police officers should concentrate on state and local crimes rather than act as federal immigration agents.
Federal immigration officials have taken the opposite position, arguing that closer cooperation allows authorities to transfer people directly from local custody to ICE rather than conducting enforcement operations in communities.
The policy disagreement helped create the political backdrop for Operation Rotten Apple.
ICE Arrests Rising Across New York
Operation Rotten Apple also fits within a larger increase in immigration arrests nationally and in New York.
Immigration arrests in New York fell to approximately 860 in April before climbing during subsequent months, according to federal data obtained by the Deportation Data Project and reported by The New York Times.
More than 1,550 people were arrested in New York during July.
Nationally, immigration arrests reached approximately 49,000 in July as the Trump administration pushed ICE to increase enforcement.
Operation Rotten Apple pushed New York’s numbers substantially higher.
North Country Public Radio reported that the 2,197 arrests represented the state’s highest monthly level since the administration’s intensified immigration enforcement campaign began.
Immigration Violations and Criminal Offenses Differ
The controversy surrounding the operation illustrates an important legal distinction.
Violating federal immigration law does not necessarily mean someone has been convicted of a criminal offense.
Some immigration violations are civil matters.
Other immigration-related conduct can constitute federal crimes.
Separately, an immigrant may have been convicted of crimes unrelated to immigration status.
Those categories can overlap, but they are not interchangeable.
That is why the criminal histories DHS released for specific Operation Rotten Apple arrests should not automatically apply to the entire group of 2,197 people.
The federal government has provided examples of serious offenders apprehended during the operation, but it has not released comprehensive statistics showing the criminal-history composition of the entire group.
Federal Government Signals More Enforcement
Operation Rotten Apple does not appear to represent the end of increased immigration enforcement in New York.
During the announcement, Mullin was asked whether the administration was prepared to send additional federal personnel to New York.
He said yes, adding that the federal government would deploy additional resources when state and local governments declined to cooperate with immigration authorities.
Mullin also argued that federal funding should potentially be withheld from sanctuary jurisdictions, although such actions can generate substantial constitutional and legal challenges.
For ICE, the operation demonstrated the scale of enforcement possible when federal personnel are concentrated in a particular state for several weeks.
For Hochul, Mamdani and other New York officials, it intensified an already significant confrontation with the Trump administration over immigration policy.
Operation Ends With 2,197 Arrests
The central number is not disputed.
ICE arrested 2,197 people across New York between July 27 and Aug. 29 during Operation Rotten Apple.
DHS documented people among those arrested with criminal histories involving murder, kidnapping, rape, assault, burglary, and drug trafficking.
At the same time, the federal government has not demonstrated publicly that all 2,197 people had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges.
That distinction is important when evaluating both the law-enforcement results and the political claims surrounding the operation.
Operation Rotten Apple therefore represents two developments simultaneously: a significant federal immigration enforcement action that apprehended some people with documented serious criminal histories, and another major confrontation between the Trump administration and New York officials over the limits of state and local participation in federal immigration enforcement.
With federal officials promising continued enforcement, that confrontation is unlikely to end when Operation Rotten Apple concludes.
Please come to St. Louis, MO.
Sources: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, federal immigration data, and independent reporting reviewed by STL.News.
