Mansuri Manuchekhri, a Tajik national who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2016 and overstayed, was arrested in Brooklyn and charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and ISIS-K, possessing firearms while unlawfully in the United States, and immigration fraud. From approximately December 2021 through April 2023, Manuchekhri facilitated more than $50,000 in payments to ISIS-affiliated individuals in Turkey and Syria, and recorded himself firing an assault rifle at a New Jersey shooting range, sending the video to an ISIS contact with the message "Thank God, I am ready, brother." If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 45 years' imprisonment.

Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, also known as "Veterano de Tribus," a high-ranking MS-13 leader who had been on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List since February 2025, was arrested by Mexican authorities in Veracruz on March 17 and arraigned in a Long Island federal court on March 19, 2025. He faces a four-count indictment — along with a dozen other high-ranking MS-13 leaders — charging racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, narco-terrorism conspiracy, and alien smuggling conspiracy. The indictment alleges defendants directed MS-13's unlawful activities in the U.S., El Salvador, and Mexico for two decades, including use of improvised explosive devices, military-style training camps, and targeted violence against Salvadoran law enforcement and civilians.

Joel Vargas-Escobar, also known as "Momia," a high-ranking MS-13 leader who had been a fugitive for nearly four years after being previously deported to El Salvador and illegally re-entering the United States, was arrested in Long Island. He is charged under a District of Nevada indictment with racketeering conspiracy involving 11 murders, two counts of murder-in-aid of racketeering, and associated firearms charges, with prosecutors alleging he personally ordered at least two of the charged murders. Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated: "This terrorist entered our country illegally and is accused of orchestrating 11 murders."

The United States secured custody of 29 defendants transferred from Mexico on February 27, 2025, facing charges in districts across the country for racketeering, drug trafficking, murder, illegal use of firearms, and money laundering. The defendants include leaders and managers of cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG, Cártel del Noreste, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and the Gulf Cartel. Notable among those transferred was Rafael Caro Quintero, a cartel kingpin atop the DEA's most wanted list for four decades, and Luis Geraldo Mendez Estevane, the last outstanding fugitive from the 2010 U.S. Consulate Murders in Ciudad Juarez.

ICE conducted an enhanced enforcement operation in the New York City area between April 6-12, 2025, apprehending 206 individuals described as being illegally present, the majority of whom had criminal histories including manslaughter, rape, assault, and drug trafficking. Of the 206 arrested, 121 had major criminal convictions or faced charges for violent crimes. The operation targeted members of criminal organizations including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.

ICE and federal law enforcement partners apprehended 133 individuals during a targeted enforcement operation in western, central, and northern New York from March 24-28, 2025. Of those arrested, 20 had criminal convictions or charges, including three homicide convictions. The operation involved four criminal search warrants for worksite enforcement and included participation from the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Marshals Service.

ICE arrested Abel Osbaldo Mendez, a 29-year-old Guatemalan national, upon his release from federal prison in March 2025. Mendez had been convicted of sexual battery of a child and illegal reentry, and had previously been removed from the United States on three separate occasions — in 2014, 2019, and 2021 — before illegally reentering each time. The ICE Field Office Director characterized repeat offenders like Mendez as representing a major threat to communities.

ICE removed two Jamaican nationals in February 2025 who had been convicted of serious felonies in New York. Nascimento Blair, 44, was convicted of first-degree kidnapping in 2005 and sentenced to 15 years; Nevel Larey Heslop, 67, was convicted of homicide in 1991 and received a 30-year sentence. Both individuals had prior removal orders and remained in ICE custody until their deportation.

Sebastian Zapeta, a Guatemalan national who had previously been deported and illegally re-entered the United States, was charged with murder and arson after allegedly setting a sleeping homeless woman on fire on an F train approaching Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn on December 22, 2024. The victim, Debrina Kawam, 57, of Toms River, New Jersey, died from her injuries; surveillance footage showed Zapeta igniting her clothing and blanket while only the two of them were in the subway car. Zapeta was indicted on multiple counts of murder and arson, with the top charge carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

The sheriffs of Ontario and Seneca counties issued separate statements in February 2025 clarifying their departments' legal limitations regarding immigration enforcement, noting that deputies are not authorized to arrest or detain individuals solely based on immigration status under federal and New York State law. Seneca County Sheriff Timothy Thompson stated that his facility will honor federal arrest warrants signed by a magistrate, and that deputies will assist federal immigration authorities in emergency situations at a commanding officer's discretion. Wayne County Sheriff Rob Milby, who serves on the National Sheriff's Association Border Security Committee, provided broader context tying local immigration issues to national security and drug trafficking concerns along New York's northern border.