For some time now, President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has promised that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surge in New York City was on the way. On July 27, 2026, his words came to fruition as operations in the Big Apple, the city run by Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, finally launched.
Homan first revealed the plans for a surge of immigration enforcement operations in June, however, he did not provide a timeline as to when it would start. Homan appeared on Fox & Friends on June 8 where he warned New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), “You’re going to see more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen in New York City, and it’s coming.”
The border czar’s warning came after the state’s legislature, controlled by Democrats, passed additional sanctuary state laws, some of which put even more restrictions on state law enforcement agencies to prevent them from partnering with federal authorities. “I’m keeping my promise: We’re going to send more ICE agents to New York because you took away the efficiencies of safer arrests at county jails,” Homan added.
According to a report from Breitbart News, Homan has now followed through on his threat as ICE operations kicked off on Monday, July 27. The surge started in Queens and is expected to spread throughout other boroughs across the city. As of this writing, officers already assigned to New York will be taking the lead on the effort and no plans have been announced to bring those who are stationed outside the city into the city to provide assistance with the surge.
Homan went on to say that the operation could last as long as a month, but did not provide any concrete parameters. Current regulations prohibit ICE officers from arresting anyone who is either going to or leaving court. According to a report from NewsNation, sources close to the matter say that ICE will end up making a number of collateral arrests, which means that those who aren’t an official target can and will be arrested.
The report also stated that Homan has made it clear anyone who is in the country illegally “isn’t off the table” for an enforcement operation, even if they aren’t being specifically targeted by the Department of Homeland Security. At the end of May 2026, Hochul signed a bill into law further restricting law enforcement from providing aid to federal immigration officers.
The outlet asked a spokesperson with Homeland Security if they could confirm operations in New York started on Monday, however, the individual declined to provide comment on the matter. “ICE agents uphold our nation’s immigration laws in all 50 states, seven days a week, 24 hours a day,” the spokesperson went on to say.
"*" indicates required fields
Commenting on an X post about Homan’s warning, one user said, “It’s going to be like half of the city! NYC has an astounding level of illegal aliens. Most of the businesses will close or suffer huge setbacks as their workforce is removed. Onward!” Another person commented on a NewsNation Facebook post about the newly launched operations, saying, “Totally Respect ICE & EVERYTHING they do! Keep up the great work & be safe ICE!”