ICE Arrests Alpha Bah After New York City Manhunt
Federal immigration officers arrested Alpha Bah in New York City on October 30, ending a search that followed his release from local custody. Bah, a Guinea national, is accused of attacking a police officer using a lethal weapon. He was also charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and trying to obtain transportation without paying after an October 7 arrest, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.
ICE officers said they located Bah at a temporary residence and watched the area. They first saw a man matching his description leave and meet several people on a nearby street. Officers waited to approach because school-aged children were nearby. After later seeing Bah alone, they identified him using biographical questions, a photograph and a biometric tool, then arrested him without incident. He was taken to a federal building in Manhattan for processing.
DHS said ICE had requested that Bah be held, but local authorities released him without notifying federal immigration officials. The case prompted criticism from DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who blamed New York City’s sanctuary policies and called on Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to change them. Hochul had signed a regulation restricting cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration authorities. The arrest brings the search to an end, while the dispute over local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement continues.
Bah’s Arrest Rekindles Fight Over Local Immigration Cooperation
ICE’s arrest of Alpha Bah in New York City on October 30 has become another flashpoint in the fight over whether local authorities should help federal immigration agents. Bah is accused of attacking an officer using a lethal weapon and was charged with several other offenses after an October 7 arrest. Those charges remain allegations.
Federal officials say they had asked local authorities to hold Bah, but he was released without ICE being notified. ICE later tracked him to a temporary residence, watched the area and waited until he was alone to approach. Officers arrested him without incident and took him to Manhattan for processing.
The episode highlights the tension between local limits on cooperation and federal demands for immigration enforcement. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a regulation restricting cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration authorities. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin condemned New York City’s sanctuary policies and urged Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to change course. But the account of the arrest itself establishes that Bah was accused and charged; it does not establish guilt. The case now shifts from a manhunt to federal processing, while the policy dispute remains.
Sanctuary Policies Let Bah Go, ICE Had to Find Him
The arrest of Alpha Bah shows the consequences of New York City’s refusal to honor an ICE detainer, DHS officials say. Bah, a Guinea national charged after an October 7 arrest that included an accusation that he attacked an officer using a lethal weapon, was released from local custody without federal immigration authorities being notified.
ICE officers had to track Bah to a temporary residence and conduct surveillance before arresting him on October 30. They delayed their approach when school-aged children were nearby, then detained him without incident once he was alone. Bah was taken to Manhattan for processing.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin blamed the city’s sanctuary policies and called on Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to change them. Hochul signed a regulation restricting cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration authorities. The clash puts the stakes of that policy in sharp relief: federal officials say a person they wanted held was back on the streets, and federal agents then had to locate him themselves. Bah’s criminal charges remain allegations; the arrest does not resolve them.
Reported by Fox News, Townhall.
