Noem blames NY officials, 'sanctuary city policies' for off-duty Border Patrol agent's shooting

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem blamed New York City’s “sanctuary city policies” for the shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer over the weekend.

Noem said in a statement Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have “caught” a second suspect connected to the shooting early that morning.

Noem identified the individual as Christian Aybar-Berroa, an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic with a significant criminal record, and lamented that he had not been apprehended sooner.

“Christhian Aybar-Berroa, is an illegal from the Dominican Republic. He entered the country illegally in 2022 under the Biden Administration and was ordered for final removed in 2023 by an immigration judge,” Noem wrote in a statement on the social platform X on Monday.

“He has a criminal record in New York City and detainers were IGNORED thanks to @ericadamsfornyc sanctuary city policies,” Noem continued, referring to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who is running for reelection as an independent candidate.

“He was arrested for reckless endangerment and larceny and was released before ICE could get him off the streets,” Noem added.

Noem reiterated that sentiment at a press conference Monday.

“There's absolutely zero reason that someone who is scum of the earth like this should be running loose on the streets of New York City. He was arrested four different times in New York City, and because of the mayor's policies and sanctuary city policies, was released back to do harm to people and to individuals living in this city,” Noem said at the press conference.

“Make no mistake, this officer is in the hospital today, fighting for his life because of the policies of the mayor of this city and the city council and the people that were in charge of keeping the public safe, they refused to do so, and now we have the situation on our hand where someone who has dedicated their lives to protecting the public is now fighting for his own,” she continued.

A 42-year-old Border Patrol officer was injured late Saturday in what officials described as an apparent botched robbery in a park under the George Washington Bridge.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the officer was shot in the face and the arm after he was approached by two men on a moped while sitting with a woman in a park just before midnight. When one man got off and approached the officer, the officer drew his service weapon and the two exchanged fire, officials said.

Police said the man attempting the robbery was injured before he drove away with the moped driver.

Police earlier took a person of interest, 21-year-old Miguel Mora, into custody after he arrived at a Bronx hospital to be treated for wounds to the groin and leg. Officials had been looking for the second suspect connected to the shooting through the weekend.

Mora is an immigrant living in the country illegally and has an extensive criminal history, Tisch said, adding that he entered the U.S. illegally through Arizona in 2023 and was arrested twice in New York for domestic violence.

He was also wanted in New York on accusations of robbery and felony assault, Tisch said. In Massachusetts, he was wanted in a case involving stolen weapons.

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2014 signed a sanctuary city bill, which remains the law in New York City, even as Adams has stressed his interest in cooperating with the Trump administration to enforce its immigration agenda.