A New York City Department of Correction officer violated the city’s sanctuary protections for immigrants by providing information to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in multiple cases in 2024 and 2025, according to a new city Department of Investigation report.

The correction officer, who was not identified, assisted federal immigration enforcement efforts in the cases of two immigrants in city custody, identified as Cristian Concepcion and Pedro Mujica Villa Nueva, according to the DOI report.

Federal agents, with the correction officer’s help, arrested Concepcion shortly after his release from Rikers Island and transferred him to an ICE detention center, according to the report. The report did not say what happened to Villa Nueva. Attorneys for the two immigrants could not be reached for comment.

The city’s sanctuary laws largely prohibit the use of city resources in assisting in federal immigration enforcement efforts, with some exceptions for immigrants convicted of “violent or serious” crimes. The report concluded the correction officer, who was assigned to the Homeland Security Investigations Violent Gang Task Force, was unaware he had violated the city’s sanctuary protections.

“The Department of Correction needs to do… a better job in providing guidance to their staff who regularly work with federal agents as part of task forces,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said in an interview. “They need better guidance as to what they can and can’t assist with and how to determine what they're being asked to do.”

Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, said in a statement the Department of Correction took immediate action when it learned of the officer's conduct, including providing training and agency-wide reminders on DOC policy and local laws.

“As Mayor Adams has repeatedly stated, New York City does not — and will not — participate in civil immigration enforcement, in accordance with local law," Mamelak said. "We were disappointed to learn that a Department of Correction employee — acting independently and without direction or consultation from a supervisor — unknowingly failed to follow city law and DOC policy related to immigration enforcement."

According to the DOI findings, the officer assisted federal officers in February with the arrest of Concepcion, who had been convicted of third degree assault. Concepcion’s conviction was not among the dozens of offenses for which city police and correction officers are authorized to cooperate with federal immigrant enforcement officers.

The investigation also found that at the time of the violations, the DOC did not provide any training to its officers or staff about city sanctuary laws. City investigators recommended that the DOC bolster their training and guidance, and conduct a department-wide audit to find if there were other instances where DOC officers violated city sanctuary laws.

Spokespeople for the DOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The independent investigation of the DOC comes after the NYPD launched a separate probe in May about whether police officers violated department policy when they shared an internal report with ICE about a Palestinian woman arrested at a protest.

In December, New York City agreed to pay up to $92.5 million to settle claims it unlawfully detained more than 20,000 undocumented immigrants beyond their scheduled release from city jails, some for weeks at a time, to transfer them into ICE custody.

This article was updated with additional information.