ICE Arrests Alpha Bah, the Guinean Man Released by New York City Despite Detainers, Ending a Manhunt
DHS says officers tracked him to a temporary residence, waited because children were nearby, and took him into custody without incident at about 3:25 p.m. Friday. He is accused of assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon.
The man DHS says New York City let go twice despite ICE detainers is in federal custody, Fox News Digital reports in an exclusive.
The arrest. A DHS official told Fox that ICE officers arrested Alpha Bah, a man from Guinea in the country illegally, at about 3:25 p.m. Friday. Officers from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations traced him to a temporary residence in New York City and set up surveillance. At about 2:22 p.m., they saw a man matching his description leave and meet several people on a public street. They held back because school-aged children were nearby. About an hour later they approached him alone, showing police and ICE identification, and confirmed his identity with questions, a photo and the Mobile Fortify biometric tool. They served an administrative immigration arrest warrant and took him in without incident. He was taken to 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan for processing.
The case. DHS says Bah was first arrested Oct. 7 on charges that include aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest. ICE lodged a detainer with Queens Central Booking, but DHS says he was released without federal officers being told.
The politics. Before the arrest, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the city's "sanctuary politicians refused to honor ICE's detainer and RELEASED him back onto the streets." 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." Fox links the case to a House report alleging New York prosecutors tailored plea deals to shield immigrants from deportation.
Note for readers: the account of the arrest and the earlier releases comes from a DHS official and DHS statements. Fox's report does not include a response from the city. The assault charges are accusations, not convictions. Our earlier story on the manhunt is on the site.