EXCLUSIVE: Federal immigration officers arrested an illegal alien accused of attacking a New York City police officer Friday, ending a manhunt sparked by his release from local custody despite repeated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests, Fox News Digital has learned.
Alpha Bah, an illegal immigrant from Guinea, was taken into custody at approximately 3:25 p.m. after ICE officers tracked him to a temporary residence in New York City, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told Fox News Digital.
Officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) developed intelligence about Bah’s last known temporary residence Friday and established surveillance in the surrounding area, the official said.
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At approximately 2:22 p.m., officers spotted a man matching Bah’s description leaving the residence and meeting several unidentified individuals on a nearby public street. Officers continued monitoring him rather than immediately approaching because several school-aged children were in the area.
About an hour later, officers spotted Bah alone and approached him while displaying police and ICE identification. They confirmed his identity through biographical questions, a photograph and Mobile Fortify, a biometric identification tool.
Officers informed Bah of an administrative immigration arrest warrant and took him into custody without incident. He was transported to 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan for post-arrest processing, according to the official.
The arrest comes after Fox News Digital reported that NYC authorities released Bah despite repeated requests from federal immigration officials to hold him in custody.
Bah was initially arrested Oct. 7 on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and intent to obtain transportation without paying, according to DHS.
ICE lodged a detainer with Queens Central Booking, but Bah was released without federal immigration authorities being notified, DHS previously said.
The case drew criticism from federal immigration officials who accused New York City’s sanctuary policies of allowing Bah to return to the streets despite the pending immigration detainer.
“This illegal alien from Guinea was arrested for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon. Despite these violent charges, New York City sanctuary politicians refused to honor ICE’s detainer and RELEASED him back onto the streets, and he remains at large,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement prior to Friday’s arrest.
“DHS is calling on Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to knock it off with these evil sanctuary policies before another American gets hurt, or worse.”
Fox News Digital’s Hannah Brennan and Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.