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City Watchdog Finds NYPD Sanctuary-Law Breach, Issues 7 Reforms

The department agreed to seven reforms after investigators flagged documentation lapses, policy gaps, inconsistent reporting.

Overview

  • The Department of Investigation reviewed five NYPD interactions with federal agencies from November 2024 through June 2025 and found one clear violation of sanctuary rules.
  • An officer on an HSI gang task force created automated email alerts on Nov. 21, 2024 for people potentially subject to civil immigration enforcement, violating city law.
  • The officer was removed from the task force and had system access curtailed, and investigators found no evidence the alerts led to NYPD action or known ICE arrests.
  • DOI cited under-documentation of federal requests, incomplete data to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs under Local Law 228, and the lack of a written policy on federal access to NYPD property required by Local Law 246.
  • NYPD accepted all seven recommendations, including email audits for officers on federal task forces, clearer guidance to assess requests, consolidated policies, and stronger reporting; other reviewed cases were deemed compliant, including the FBI transfer of Merwil Gutiérrez Flores, the handling of sealed records in the Leqaa Kordia matter, the cancellation of a planned hotel operation, and a brief June detention after a federal custody escape.