Federal officials on Thursday criticized New York’s sanctuary policies after an undocumented Peruvian immigrant was charged with raping a 27-year-old woman inside a Brooklyn apartment building.
Reynaldo Mayna Cordero, 35, entered the United States illegally in 2023 and remained free despite what federal officials described as a history of violent offenses. Authorities allege he followed the woman into her Bedford-Stuyvesant building and raped her Sunday.
“This illegal alien’s criminal history includes anal rape, strongarm assault with a deadly weapon, forcible touching, touching sexual/intimate parts of another person and third-degree sexual assault,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
“Yet sanctuary politicians in New York invited this vile criminal into their community,” Mullin said. “Sanctuary politicians have handcuffed their law enforcement and are allowing criminal activity to thrive, while the American people become less safe.”
Mullin said Mayna Cordero crossed the US-Mexico border near San Diego on Aug. 18, 2023, and was released into the country under policies implemented by the Biden administration.
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Law enforcement sources said Mayna Cordero was arrested once in New York City in 2025, on a criminal mischief charge in Manhattan. Federal officials did not immediately respond to a request for additional information about his alleged criminal record.
The NYPD said he allegedly attacked the Brooklyn woman at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday near Bedford Avenue and Willoughby Avenue.
According to police and law enforcement sources, Mayna Cordero approached the woman on an e-bike, slapped her rear and followed her into the building. He allegedly raped her there before fleeing the scene.
Police released surveillance images and arrested Mayna Cordero Monday night.
Officials with DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have since issued a detainer for him. New York’s sanctuary policies generally bar local authorities from honoring federal immigration detainers.
