Kristi Noem says NYC refused to honor ICE detainer on illegal immigrant charged with setting woman on fire

An illegal immigrant accused of setting a New York woman on fire will not be turned over to Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) due to the city's sanctuary policies. Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, a citizen of Guatemala, faces murder and arson charges for the December 2024 killing of Debrina Kawam, 57. He has been accused of lighting Kawam on fire while the subway train she was riding stopped at Coney Island station in Brooklyn, New York City.

Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), called on Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul to issue an emergency suspension of the state's sanctuary policies so that ICE could take Zapeta-Calil into federal custody while awaiting trial.

"ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the NYC Department of Corrections to take this depraved alien into custody," Noem said in a video posted to X. "Because of current sanctuary city policy, the corrections department has indicated it will not honor the detainer."

"This is disgusting," Noem continued. "New York politicians are allowing the murder of their own citizens. Governor Hochul should impose an emergency suspension of sanctuary protection by executive order, now!"

Zapeta-Calil will face the Courts in the jurisdiction where he allegedly committed the crime. However, Zapeta-Calil being remanded to ICE custody would make it easier for him to be deported after serving a jail sentence if he were to be convicted on charges, per the Daily Mail.

Local law enforcement is prohibited from collaborating with immigration authorities to detain noncitizens in custody until they can be processed for deportation proceedings, according to sanctuary city laws. Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has been making efforts to bypass the legislation so NYPD can work in tandem with ICE to pursue criminal illegal migrants. 

ICE said that Zapeta-Calil unlawfully entered the United States in 2018. He was deported from the country under the Trump administration and returned to the US on an unknown date. Zapeta-Calil had been living in a Brooklyn shelter at the time of the killing and was employed as a roofer.

If convicted of murder, Zapeta-Calil faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.