Head of ICE in NYC says it would 'take a lifetime' to clear the city of illegal criminal migrants

It would take a "lifetime" to deport the migrant criminals currently living in New York City, according to Kenneth Genalo, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) head there.

“In New York City, it would take a lifetime to clear the city of the criminals that we have if the status quo remains the same," Genalo told the New York Post in an exclusive interview.

He added that additional resources are needed to help with the city's mass migrant problem.

“The fact is that I have to focus all of my resources on the worst of the worst, the most egregious violators," Genalo told the outlet. "All I can tell you is we have leads that we work every day — and it’s not in the hundreds."

One of the main issues President-elect Donald Trump ran on in the 2024 campaign was mass deportations around the U.S. and shutting down the southern border.

Genalo didn't say how the local ICE department in New York City would change after Trump takes office.

He did say that he was irritated by New York’s sanctuary laws that don't allow migrants who have committed crimes to be deported. 

More than 223,000 migrants have come to New York since the current crisis began in the spring of 2022, according to the outlet, and at least 58,000 are living in taxpayers-funded shelters.

Also according to ICE, there are well over 600,000 convicted felons or people with criminal charges pending among the illegal migrant population in the U.S.