NEW YORK — Federal immigration agents arrested two men on Brooklyn streets during an early-morning operation Oct. 29. The first arrest was over in seconds. The second took about four minutes as agents struggled to handcuff a man outside a closed storefront.

Ken Genalo, who leads U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s New York City enforcement and removal operations, said both men had previously been in local custody. He argued that taking them into federal custody at a jail would have been safer than sending agents to find them on busy streets. New York City’s sanctuary policies limit when local authorities can honor federal immigration requests to hold people for ICE.

Fox News Digital observed the arrests during a ride-along with Genalo. More than a dozen agents gathered before dawn for a briefing, then headed out in unmarked vehicles shortly before 6 a.m.

Their first target was Nika Tkeshelashvili, 40, a Georgian national who ICE said entered the United States illegally in January 2023. He was arrested in September on a first-degree sexual abuse charge, which remains pending.

Agents expected Tkeshelashvili to come outside to move his car before he got a parking ticket. They watched from nearby streets as the neighborhood filled with commuters and schoolchildren. At 7:57 a.m., an agent reported that Tkeshelashvili had stepped outside and was headed toward his car. Officers converged, handcuffed him without a struggle and drove him away.

The second arrest was more difficult. ICE said Yves Frantz Augustine, 45, a Haitian national, entered the country legally in 1997 but overstayed his visa. He was ordered deported in 2006 and served seven years in prison for an assault conviction, according to ICE. Genalo said an attempt to deport him in 2011 failed because Haiti did not issue travel documents. He also said New York authorities declined three subsequent requests to turn Augustine over to ICE.

Agents waited until Augustine had dropped off a child at school before approaching him at about 8:26 a.m. One officer drew his weapon as others tried to get Augustine’s hands behind his back. They pressed him against a storefront shutter, handcuffed him and led him to a waiting SUV.

Augustine asked to call his wife and told officers he was a U.S. citizen. An officer showed him the warrant before putting him in the vehicle. Genalo disputed the citizenship claim, citing the 2006 deportation order. The report did not independently establish Augustine’s current citizenship status.

The arrests came amid a public dispute between ICE and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has called for the agency to be abolished and released a Spanish-language video advising New Yorkers on how to respond to ICE agents. Genalo criticized Mamdani, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the City Council, saying limits on cooperation require his officers to spend more time tracking people who could have been transferred directly from local custody.

Despite the dispute, Genalo said he was willing to meet with Mamdani. “I just wish we could sit down and collaborate and come to an agreement,” he said.