Still stunned that New York police released an illegal immigrant sought by ICE who then went on to allegedly rape and murder a 92-year-old woman, federal officials Friday ripped the city’s “sanctuary” status and asked political leaders to join them “to keep this city safe.”

In New York, acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Matthew T. Albence blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio’s sanctuary policies for releasing a Guyanese man, Reeaz Khan, in November who then 40 days later allegedly sexually abused Maria Fuertes, 92, in Queens. She later died of her injuries, including a broken spine.

He is now in custody and has been indicted for her murder.

De Blasio’s policies, said a visibly angry Albence, are “culpable in the fact that this individual was able to walk the streets and commit that crime.”

Rightfully so! DeBlasio and his puppets all went along with a policy to support criminals. https://t.co/SpyW0UfxFq pic.twitter.com/ZLjBBJdhuN — SBA (@SBANYPD) January 15, 2020

Vincent J. Vallelong, vice president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, a union that represents 13,000 active and retired city sergeants, agreed and said city police want to help ICE enforce laws.

Asked about comments from the mayor that cooperating with ICE doesn’t help, Vallelong said, “The mayor can say what he wants to say. He owns this. That’s right.”

Albence pleaded with City Hall to cooperate in the future and stop barring police from helping.

“All you need to do is call us before you release them. A phone call, one simple phone call, and Maria Fuertes would be alive today,” he said. “These are preventable crimes people, and most importantly preventable victims,” he added.

ICE Acting Director Matthew Albence answers questions during a news conference in #NYC, with ERO Field Office Director Thomas Decker and members of the #NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association. pic.twitter.com/XlRQivBDsr — ICE (@ICEgov) January 17, 2020

The administration has seized on the murder of Fuertes to target the 300 sanctuary cities and communities around the nation that have policies against cooperating with ICE.

Albence revealed that New York City has refused 7,526 “detainers,” which are requests for illegal immigrants in jail. The city claims it refused less than half, 2,916, which Albence rejected. He said the city probably put the others “in the shredder.”

Among those illegal immigrants ICE sought but who were released without even a phone call to ICE were some 200 murderers, said Albence.

He stressed that the city’s refusal to turn over illegal immigrant criminals for deportation before releasing them on to the streets did not begin with the Trump administration. He said that the same requests were made, and refused, during the Obama era.

“As much as I like New York City, I hate that I’m here right now,” said Albence, who stood at a press conference with several city police supporters. He said that it is “unbelievable that I have to come here and plead with the city of New York to cooperate with us to help keep this city safe.”

What’s more, he said that ICE and its Enforcement and Removal Operations officers won’t just leave New York because of its sanctuary status, but is adding more so that they can find and deport illegal immigrant criminals.

