NEW YORK, NEW YORK — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the arrest of a 21-year-old Uzbek national in Staten Island on April 28 following his release from local custody despite multiple pending sex crime charges.
Ulugbek Davronov, an illegal alien, faces charges in Queens County Criminal Court including rape involving oral sexual contact without consent, sexual misconduct, attempted assault, and sexual abuse. ICE officials said Davronov had previously been ordered removed from the U.S. but was released by local authorities after arraignment.
“ICE places a high priority on arresting and removing criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New York City Acting Field Office Director William P. Joyce. “Thankfully, ICE officers and agents, with the help of our FBI partners, were able to safely apprehend this alien.”
Davronov originally entered the U.S. illegally near Lukeville, Arizona, on December 28, 2022. He was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol and placed into removal proceedings. On July 28, 2023, an immigration judge issued a removal order in absentia.
Local authorities released suspect despite ICE detainer
ICE New York filed an immigration detainer with Queens Central Booking on February 19, the same day Davronov was arraigned on the sex crime charges. However, Queens County Central Booking released him the next day without notifying ICE.
The agency’s Fugitive Operations officers, working with Homeland Security Investigations, later located and arrested Davronov in Staten Island during a targeted enforcement action. He is now in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
ICE has criticized local jurisdictions for failing to honor immigration detainers, particularly in cases involving individuals charged with violent or sexual offenses.
Davronov’s arrest highlights ongoing conflicts between federal immigration enforcement and local release policies in sanctuary jurisdictions like New York City.
ICE took a fugitive Uzbek national into custody in NYC after local officials released him despite serious sex crime charges.