DHS Says 'Operation Rotten Apple' Arrested 2,197 People Across New York in a Month-Long Sweep

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced at a New York City press conference on Sept. 1, 2026 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 2,197 people across New York State between July 27 and Aug. 29 in an operation the department named "Operation Rotten Apple." The DHS release says the sweep covered New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley and upstate counties, describes those arrested as including people convicted of murder, rape, drug trafficking and offenses against children, and names ten individuals. Mullin said the operation proceeded "with no help from Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul."

The department framed the operation explicitly as a response to state and city sanctuary policies, asserting that those policies released 13,621 people from New York jails. Naming an enforcement surge after the state it targets, and building the announcement around the two Democratic officials who govern it, folds federal immigration enforcement into a political dispute with a particular jurisdiction.

DHS did not publish a breakdown showing how many of the 2,197 people had criminal convictions as opposed to arrests or no record at all. Governor Kathy Hochul disputed the administration's characterization and Mayor Zohran Mamdani said ICE was criminalizing immigrants' presence.