Overview
- DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Tuesday that Operation Rotten Apple detained 2,197 people across New York state between July 27 and Aug. 29.
- The department released photos and criminal histories for only 10 individuals and provided no full breakdown of the 2,197 arrests, leaving basic case-level details opaque.
- New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani rejected the federal framing and pointed to record-low murders and shootings to argue the city is safer now.
- Independent reporting and the Deportation Data Project show a large share of recent ICE arrests in New York had no criminal history, with past analyses finding about two-thirds of 18,000+ state arrests lacked criminal records.
- The operation has heightened tension over local cooperation with ICE after Nassau County ended its 287(g) partnership, prompted threats of more federal deployments, and stirred community reports of fear and isolated confrontations during arrests.