A pair of federal immigration bigwigs on Thursday called for the long-shuttered ICE office at the Rikers Island jail complex to reopen — one day after The Post reported on a similar plea from a local lawmaker.
“Reestablishing the [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] unit at Rikers would would allow [Enforcement and Removal Operations] NYC officers to take direct custody of foreign born criminal offenders without the need to re-apprehend these criminals at large in the community,” Assistant Director of Field Operations Todd Lyons wrote on his linkedin.com page.
ICE New York Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo followed up with his own post.
“Sanctuary policies only protect the criminals,” he wrote on his page. “This insanity needs to stop!”
The feedback comes one day after The Post reported on a call from one city lawmaker to get the ICE office up and running for the first time since then-Mayor Bill de Blasio shut it down in 2015.
City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) said the office is needed amid a spike in migrant crime over the past two years — a dynamic he blamed largely on the Big Apple’s immigration “sanctuary city” status.
Sanctuary cities like New York refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials, typically including a refusal to hold criminal migrants until ICE agents can swoop in and nab him for deportation.
Mayor Eric Adams has voiced support for sanctuary city status in the past, but more recently waffled on the issue, suggesting that the restrictions should be loosened for law-breaking migrants.
“Tough talk is good,” a skeptical Holden fired back this week. “But actions speak louder.”
A rep for Adams defended the mayor’s stance.
“Mayor Adams has repeatedly said that while we will continue to respect our city’s sanctuary laws, we must also have a serious conversation about the small number of individuals who repeatedly commit violent crimes in our city and the consequences they should face,” the spokesperson said Thursday.
“We must also fix this nation’s unsuccessful border policies that have led us to this place,” the emailed statement said.
Officials at ICE did not respond to requests for comment.
— Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
