Illegal immigrants attack NYPD at Randall's Island shelter, arrest made

A confrontation between NYPD officers and illegal immigrants at the Randall's Island shelter in New York City on Thursday resulted in one man being arrested and escorted off the premises.

The event was just the latest in a string of violent incidents involving undocumented newcomers at the shelter in recent weeks.

According to the New York Post, the situation unfolded around 11 am. The man, who has not been identified, was reportedly going at it with a security guard, and when officers arrived, the scene devolved into chaos. The man was not registered to stay at the facility, the Daily Mail reports.

A fight broke out between him and law enforcement before he was finally apprehended and taken away. 

The ensuing struggle was caught on camera, with footage showing officers trying to get a man in a white t-shirt and dark pants under control while a crowd of illegal immigrants looks on, filming and shouting.

An eyewitness told the Post that "two men started fighting and when cops tried to intervene, that's when people started hurling bottles and bags." 

While a female officer was struck in the head with a backpack, no serious injuries were reported.
 

Manuel Eduardo told the outlet that the arrested man did not live at the shelter, but may have been attempting to stay the night after looking for his mother, who was being housed there.

"At first security approached him and asked the man to leave. From there his resistance to their requests led to police being invited into the discussion. At first two cops showed up, then two became four, and four quickly turned to eight. They really struggled with him

Security has been beefed up at the shelter in response to the killing of an illegal immigrant in January, with more cops being stationed around the facility.

On January 6, 24-year-old Dafren Canizalez was stabbed to death by a fellow resident. Moises Coronado, 27, Ferneys Horta, 33, and Anthony Navas, 27, were subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter and gang assault, with Coronado facing an additional charge of second-degree murder.

"The overwhelming majority of migrants in our care came to our city in search of a better life and the American Dream," a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said. "The small number of those disrupting that journey for the rest of the migrants in our care by acting violently will face enforcement to the fullest extent of the law."