(The Center Square) – Two men, citizens of the Dominican Republic who were in the U.S. illegally, have been arrested for the alleged attempted robbery and attempted murder of a U.S. Customs Border Protection officer in New York City.
On July 19, two men arrived on a moped in an area of Fort Washington Park under the George Washington Bridge in New York City. Both got off of the bike, with one shooting the off-duty CBP officer, who returned fire injuring him, according to authorities. The other man approached the CBP officer in an an attempt to rob him but drove them both away, authorities say. The incident was captured on video. Both men have been arrested as of Sunday.
A witness told authorities that she and the CBP officer were sitting on the rocks by the river when two subjects on a scooter drove up to them, dismounted and one approached with a drawn firearm. The off-duty officer responded by drawing his own firearm in self-defense. He was shot in his right arm and left cheek and remains in stable condition at the hospital, authoties say.
Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez and Cristian Aybar Berroa have been arrested. Both Dominican nationals illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration and have a criminal history, ICE says.
Berroa illegally entered the U.S. in June 2022 and was released into the country by the Biden administration on interim parole pending a federal court immigration hearing. A federal immigration judge issued his final order of removal on Jan. 3, 2023, according to ICE.
Instead of being removed from the country, he remained in the U.S. illegally and was arrested multiple times for a range of felonies. He was first arrested by New York City Police officers in May 2023 for 2nd degree reckless endangerment and again in March and April 2024 for 4th degree felony grand larceny and petit larceny each time, according to authorities.
Despite having an active U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer request, the New York City Department of Corrections released him into the community. In February, he was again arrested for 2nd degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, and for driving without a license. On June 12, he pleaded guilty to petit larceny at the Bronx County Supreme Court. “This plea was made in consolidation of all his previous arrests, and he was conditionally discharged and allowed to roam the streets of NYC,” DHS said.
Nunez, a Dominican national, illegally entered the U.S. in April 2023 and was released into the country, according to ICE. After failing to appear before a federal judge for his immigration hearing, the judge issued his final removal order on Nov. 6, 2024.
His criminal history includes first being arrested by NYPD officers in October 2023 for felony grand larceny, petit larceny, and reckless driving, again in October 2024 for 2nd and 3rd degree assault, and in November 2024 and in January 2025 each for criminal contempt, authorities say.
By February 2025, a warrant was issued for his arrest by the Leominster Police Department in Massachusetts on six charges including armed robbery (firearm); armed kidnapping (firearm); assault with a dangerous weapon (firearm); larceny over $1,200; larceny from a person; and intimidation of a witness.
Each time after their arrests, they were released into the community to only be arrested again for allegedly committing additional crimes, ICE says.
The Trump administration blames the sanctuary city policies of New York and Massachusetts as well as the catch and release policy of the Biden administration for crimes committed against multiple New York and Massachusetts residents and the CBP officer.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said that he has never seen the level of violence committed against federal officers in his entire multi-decade career working for six presidents.
At a press conference on Monday, he said, “I’ve been doing this since 1984; I’ve never seen a situation where I see it today,” Homan said. “You see the polls. Everybody agrees we should be arresting public safety threats, illegal aliens, but the city council here has locked us out of Rikers Island. Are you kidding me?”
He also repeated his vow that ICE officers would “flood the zone” through enhanced targeted removal of dangerous criminals in sanctuary cities, including in Massachusetts and New York.
The assault on the CBP officer came after assaults on federal immigration officers rose by 700% as of earlier this month, The Center Square reported. DHS now says assaults are up by 830%.
