Off-duty Border Protection Officer Shot In N.Y.C Amid Growing Violence Against ICE In ‘Sanctuary Cities’ As U.S. Sues

By Manzanita Miller

Democrat leaders’ attempt to devise “sanctuary cities” that restrict Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from performing their jobs and deporting illegal criminals is backfiring after a tragic incident in New York City left an off-duty border patrol agent in the hospital with gunshot wounds.

A 42-year-old border patrol agent who was off-duty was shot June 19 in a park in upper Manhattan in an alleged robbery attempt by two Dominican men according to multiple reports. Video of the incident released by the Department of Homeland Security shows one of the suspects approaching the off-duty officer on the evening of June 19.

According to President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the two suspects who carried out the attempted robbery were Dominican nationals with criminal records and in the country illegally.   

“Our officer was off duty on Saturday evening when him and his friend were attacked”, Noem said Monday in a statement. “They were attacked by two individuals that were set on robbing them, and thankfully he had his service weapon and was able to defend himself and his friend.”

Noem went on to name the officer’s alleged attackers, both of whom she reported are Dominican foreign nationals, and both of whom are reportedly inside the United States illegally.  

One man, Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, had allegedly been arrested in four separate incidents in New York City. The other alleged attacker, also a Dominican national, is reported to be Christian Aybar-Berroa, a man who reportedly entered the United States in 2022 and was ordered to leave by an immigration judge in 2023 but clearly did not obey the order.  

According to Noem’s statement, the border patrol officer was shot and injured and is in the hospital fighting for his life. The tragic shooting of the officer in New York City is just one example of escalating violence in so-called sanctuary cities, particularly against law enforcement.  

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statistics released July 15, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are facing an 830 percent increase in assaults from January 21st to July 14th compared with the same period in 2024.

The Trump Administration’s response to the tragedy in New York City has been swift.  President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure the border and improve safety in U.S. cities will now include sending more Immigration and Customs agents into these so-called “sanctuary cities” to clean them up.  

“The sanctuary cities are now our priority,” said White House border czar Tom Homan who joined Noem Monday for a statement. “We’re going to flood the zone”, Homan said. “So what are we going to do, more agents in New York City, to look for that bad guy, so sanctuary cities get exactly what they don’t want, more agents in the community and more agents in the work site.”     

Now, the U.S. is suing New York City and challenging the city’s sanctuary policies as a violation of the Constitution’s Article VI supremacy clause making the Constitution and all laws made pursuant to it, including immigration laws, the “supreme law of the land”.  

New York City has been one of the cities least willing to work with the Department of Homeland security and ICE to detain criminals. DHS reported on X that in the last six months under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE has issued over 6,000 detainer requests in N.Y.C., a more than 400 percent increase compared to the Biden administration. However, DHS reports that N.Y.C. politicians have honored only a handful of these requests, allowing criminals to continue roaming the streets, many with violent records.   

Despite rising crime in U.S. cities, particularly those that attempt to shield criminals from incarceration and deportation through “sanctuary” status, Democrat officials appear unwilling to curb the behavior of repeat criminals to protect residents. It is no wonder that the Democratic Party is facing its lowest approval rating in decades, and repeatedly labeled as weak, woke, and ineffective by voters.

Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.

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