Newly re-elected New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio must be seething.

On Long Island, New York, officers of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested twenty-five law-breaking illegal immigrants. ICE’s Operation Secure Streets worked Long Island over a six-day period this November.

Operation Secure Streets was developed and launched in 2006 under the George W. Bush Administration “to address illegal aliens convicted of violations of local driving under the influence laws…” The Operation apprehends illegal immigrants who put citizens at risk of death or injury on American roads.

De Blasio has previously stated that criminal drivers are one of the many types of illegal immigrant criminal offenders he wants to shield in his Sanctuary City. He is willing to defy the President and even sue the United States Government if New York City loses funding as a result of protecting illegal immigrants who endanger innocent people.

During the Operation Secure Streets sweep of Long Island, ERO deportation officers apprehended twenty-four illegal immigrants who have been convicted of operating of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Another person was arrested for immigration violations.

One of the arrested immigrants is a 40 year old Salvadorian national who is a member of MS-13. MS-13 is a notorious international criminal gang with a presence throughout North and Central America. The gang has earned a reputation for covering their body in gang-related tattoos, human trafficking, racketeering, witness intimidation, and gun violence, among other crimes.

Others arrested include nationals from Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Ukraine. The criminal histories of the people arrested include convictions for aggravated DWI, assault, criminal trespass, driving while impaired, and driving under the influence.

How Mayor de Blasio can look his constituents in the eye and defend shielding these criminals is beyond rational explanation.

Thomas Decker, the ERO New York field office director stated: “This operation targeted those who were convicted of driving under the influence, some with children in the car, solidifying ICE’s commitment to remove public safety threats from our communities. With the incredibly high number of vehicle accidents and related deaths as a result of DUIs, ICE will continue to arrest and remove these criminal aliens for the safety of our city’s residents.”

Each person was taken into custody and is currently being held until deportation proceedings are completed. According to ICE officials, “the arrestees who have outstanding orders of deportation, or who returned to the United States illegally after being deported, are subject to immediate removal from the country. The remaining individuals are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge.”

Sanctuary cities, like de Blasio’s New York City, encourage reckless illegal acts by illegal immigrants because they know they will be shielded from justice. They endanger those around them and live under a different set of rules than citizens and legal immigrants who follow the law. Liberals seek to pack their cities with these immigrants with the ultimate goal of making it legal for them to vote. This helps ensure Liberal Democrats get elected.

The case of Jose Inez Garcia Zarate aka Juan Francisco Sanchez-Lopez is a prime example of the type of criminal Sanctuary Cities attract. Zarate had been deported five time following seven criminal convictions when he moved to the Sanctuary City of San Francisco. There, he knew he would be protected from deportation despite his extensive criminal past.

ICE tried to detain and deport Zarate in April 2015, but the San Francisco Police Department blocked ICE’s detainer request. Less than three months later, Zarate shot and killed 32 year old Kathryn Steinle, a tragedy that launched multiple lawsuits against the local and federal governments.

In another case, Sabine Durden lost her son, Dominic, when an illegal immigrant with a history of prior criminal convictions, a deportation, and two DUIs killed him in a motor vehicle accident.

“As a legal immigrant and now citizen, I take great offense to their action. It’s a slap in the face of every citizen, immigrant, and those going through the legal process of becoming citizens,” Ms. Durden said. “Where is a sanctuary place for us victims to get away from the pain and grief caused by an illegal alien?”

In a time when the Liberal media declares America-protesting Colin Kaepernick the “Citizen of the Year,” ICE deportation officers put their lives on the line daily across the United States. The agency’s mission is to “protect the nation, uphold public safety, and protect the integrity of our immigration laws and border controls.”