Cops in sanctuary city berated after responding to Border Patrol backup call

Rochester, New York city leaders, including the police chief, are upset that local cops assisted immigration authorities in arresting eight suspected illegal aliens.

According to Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, a Democrat, on Monday the local police department received a request for backup from a group of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials who were conducting a traffic stop involving suspected illegal aliens.

When the police arrived on scene, they helped the DHS officials order the suspected illegals out of the car and apprehend them with handcuffs.

This was evidently a big no-no.

“The officers on the scene verbally directed the occupants to get out of the vehicle, and this is against our policy,” Evans explained during a press conference Wednesday, referencing Rochester’s sanctuary city policy.

Listen:

“Our policy is crystal clear: City police officers do not help or participate in federal immigration activities,” Evans continued. “Every RPD officer — I’ve instructed the chief — every officer receives more training on general orders to make sure all members are fully aware and fully understand this policy.”

City Council President Meléndez meanwhile suggested that the arrest of the eight suspected illegals had involved racial profiling.

“The reality is there’s a lot more profiling, a lot more disdain for being Latino right now in this country,” he said. “We have a policy, and we mean it. And we want to make sure that we are following what we say, what we put in as our position here in city government, and that — to our community — we are supportive of everyone.”

For reasons beyond comprehension, Police Chief David Smith is just as upset about his officers doing their jobs.

“We are not to be handcuffing subjects,” he said during the Wednesday presser. “We are not to be doing pat frisks on subjects, and we are absolutely not going to be detaining them or putting them into our cars.”

It’s not clear what, if anything, Rochester police officers are even allowed to do.

What’s known is that the local police union, the Rochester Police Locust Club, thinks city officials have grossly overreacted. In a public statement published late Wednesday, the union first described what had occurred during the traffic stop.

“Upon arrival, officers saw that HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] agents had one vehicle pulled over with multiple occupants inside,” the statement reads. “The occupants were not complying with the agents’ request to exit the vehicle. RPD did not initiate this traffic stop, and had no information about the occupants whatsoever.”

“The agents asked the officers to assist in having the occupants exit the vehicle, which ultimately the occupants did without resistance. The officers placed the occupants in handcuffs for officer safety without incident, and left them with the HSI agents on scene,” it continues.

Re: Mayor Evans’ press conference this afternoon. The Locust Club’s Statement⬇️@13WHAM @WHAM1180 @BobLonsberry @mcfw @ROCHNYCRIMEINFO @SPECNews1ROC @news10nbc @News_8 @WXXINews @crimedawgpod @DandC @WYSL1040 pic.twitter.com/NoQR0ILLku

— Rochester Police Locust Club (@ROCLocustClub) March 27, 2025

The union then went on to slam city officials for their overreaction.

“The Mayor’s statements today about this incident represent a complete overreaction to what did (and did not) happen on Monday,” they wrote. “The Locust Club members who responded did absolutely nothing wrong, other than to answer a call for help from another agency.”

“Additional inflammatory remarks from City Council President Melendez made today are clearly based on an emotional reaction rather than the facts of what actually happened. The City’s decision-makers would be better served to focus on stemming the violence that plagues Rochester, rather than projecting their anger over national policies onto Locust Club members,” they added.

Like other cities in New York State, Rochester has become a haven for criminals of all stripes.

“Rochester has one of the highest crime rates in the country and has tallied 133,814 crimes reported since 2011,” as reported by journalist Derek Torres this past December.

“Among United States cities with a population of below 250,000 people, Rochester is leading with the highest murder rate at 36 homicides per 100,000 residents. Rochester has recorded 561 Murders since 2011,” the reporting continues.

Pathetic; and I live in this area…crime is a major issue in Rochester and not assisting ICE in removing criminal aliens from the street is inexcusable. Disgusting. https://t.co/RNa5twDFKX

— Kenneth Yartz (@kennyartz) March 27, 2025

I live in the suburbs near Rochester. The city is a crime ridden cesspool and the politicians won’t allow the police to do anything about it. Malik Evans is a joke. I thought the previous mayor Lovely Warren was bad. Yet they keep voting for these feckless clowns. Mary Lupien is… pic.twitter.com/vG2hykKSn5

— Tom Byron (@realTomByron) March 28, 2025

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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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