U.S. Department of Homeland Security

04/16/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/17/2026 09:15

New York Sanctuary Politicians Refuse to Honor ICE Arrest Detainer Against Illegal Alien Charged with Murder and Arson

This sicko set a building on fire and watched as innocent people died in the flames-including a three-year-old

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested that the New York City Department of Corrections (NYCDOC) not release Roman Ceron Amatitla, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who is facing charges for murder and arson in Queens County, New York. NYCDOC has stated they WILL NOT cooperate with ICE and WILL RELEASE the illegal alien from jail back onto the streets of New York without communicating with ICE.

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Roman Ceron Amatitla

According to the Queens County District Attorney, on March 16, Amatitla entered a three-story building at 132-05 Avery Avenue in Flushing and left approximately one minute later. He urinated in front of the building and entered the premises repeatedly. Amatitla went across the street to purchase beer and a pack of matches. He then entered the building again and set garbage on fire. This monster watched as the building filled with smoke and fire consumed the property. Four individuals-including a 3-year-old girl-died as a result of this heinous crime. Several others were injured from jumping from the building, smoke inhalation, and thermal burns.

This criminal illegal alien entered the United States at an unknown date and unknown time.

On April 14, ICE requested the NYCDOC not release this monster from jail back into American communities. However, because of New York's sanctuary politicians, the NYCDOC told ICE that they will refuse to cooperate with ICE.

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"This monster set fire to a building and watched as innocent people, including a three-year-old, burned to death. New York City sanctuary politicians REFUSE to cooperate with ICE and are committing to RELEASING this MURDERER onto New York streets," said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. "New York's sanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety. We are calling on Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani to commit to honoring this detainer and turning him over."

New York City's Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an Executive Order turning New York City into a shield for violent criminal illegal aliens to reoffend and create more innocent victims.

Mamdani's action came after Governor Kathy Hochul's legislative proposal to bar local police departments from partnering and cooperating with ICE law enforcement.

As of December 1, New York's failure to honor ICE detainers has resulted in the release of 6,947 criminal illegal aliens since January 20. The crimes of these aliens include 29 homicides, 2,509 assaults, 199 burglaries, 305 robberies, 392 dangerous drugs offenses, 300 weapons offenses, and 207 sexual predatory offenses. As of December 1, 7,113 aliens in the custody of a New York jurisdiction have an active detainer. The crimes of these aliens include 148 homicides, 717 assaults, 134 burglaries, 106 robberies, 235 dangerous drugs offenses, 152 weapons offenses, and 260 sexual predatory offenses.

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security published this content on April 16, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 17, 2026 at 15:15 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]