Federal officials said they arrested two people outside a city migrant shelter who had been involved in Tren de Agua, a Venezuelan gang that the Trump administration has said is ‘invading’ the U.S.
Gothamist and other news outlets reported that multiple people had been detained Thursday outside the Row Hotel in Midtown — a facility the city had been leasing to house migrants sine 2022.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Friday evening it arrested Cristofer Xavier Hernandez Villegas and Ali Eloy Uribe-Gil outside the hotel Thursday.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, DHS and ICE are taking decisive action to restore law and order in New York City and dismantle criminal gangs,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Gothamist obtained phone footage filmed outside of the hotel showing one person being taken into custody by law enforcement wearing FBI and ICE/HSI vests. City officials say they were not involved in the operation.
“As the mayor has consistently stated, New York City does not participate in civil immigration enforcement,” said mayoral spokesperson Liz Garcia.
The mood outside the hotel Thursday and Friday was marked by apprehension as people avoided reporters asking about Thursday's incident or said they were too afraid to talk.
The incident comes the same week migrants at the Row began receiving notices telling them to leave the site. Some of the notices, which were shared with Gothamist, told the migrants they must leave as soon as November, while others have until late December or February.
The Adams administration first announced its plans to close the Row Hotel shelter in August and said it would not renew its lease, which expires in April.
The hotel housed around 3,600 migrants during the peak of the migrant crisis in January 2024, and was the first and largest city hotel to be converted into a migrant shelter. The Row opened to migrants in fall 2022.
The 1,300-room hotel currently houses about 3,000 people, most of whom are families, Garcia told Gothamist on Wednesday.
This story has been updated with additional information from the Department of Homeland Security.
