DHS called on New York officials to turn Jeronimo-Rojas over to ICE after he serves his prison sentence so he can be removed from the United States.
An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing and raping the corpse of a man who died on a New York City subway.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that Felix Jeronimo-Rojas was sentenced on June 17 after admitting to the April 2025 attack on the body of 37-year-old Jorge Gonzalez, who had died on an R train near the Whitehall Street station.
According to DHS, Gonzalez lost consciousness and died on a bench inside the subway car. Roughly three hours later, Jeronimo-Rojas boarded the train, noticed Gonzalez was unconscious, sexually assaulted his corpse, and rummaged through his pockets.
Jeronimo-Rojas turned himself in three weeks later, after surveillance footage of the incident was circulated. He was initially charged with rape and grand larceny. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against him on April 30, 2025.
DHS said Jeronimo-Rojas had illegally entered the United States four times in 1998 and 1999, voluntarily returning to Mexico each time after being encountered by US Border Patrol. He later illegally entered the country a fifth time at an unknown date and location.
“This sicko robbed and raped the corpse of a dead man on a New York City subway,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. “ICE lodged a detainer asking Governor Kathy Hochul and New York sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien after his prison sentence. We need cooperation from sanctuary politicians to ensure depraved criminals like this are not released into our communities.”
DHS called on Hochul and New York officials to turn Jeronimo-Rojas over to ICE after he serves his prison sentence so he can be removed from the United States.
The agency also accused New York sanctuary jurisdictions of refusing to honor ICE detainers, stating that as of Dec. 1, 2025, the state’s policies had resulted in the release of 6,947 criminal illegal aliens since Jan. 20. DHS said those cases included aliens accused or convicted of homicides, assaults, robberies, weapons offenses, drug offenses, and sexual predatory offenses. DHS added that 7,113 aliens in New York custody currently have active ICE detainers.
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