Federal immigration agents were forced to pursue an illegal alien with a violent criminal history after a New York City judge allowed him to leave a Manhattan courthouse despite an active federal arrest warrant, according to law enforcement sources, as reported by The New York Post.

The suspect, Gerardo Miguel Mora, 45, was arrested Thursday on shoplifting and possession of stolen property charges after allegedly stealing approximately $130 worth of merchandise from an H&M store in Midtown Manhattan, court records show.

The incident occurred the same day Mora appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on a desk appearance ticket.

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Mora had previously been arrested on Jan. 7 on the Upper West Side for possession of alleged crack cocaine, according to a criminal complaint. That case remains pending.

INFURIATING

An illegal alien described as an alleged crack user and sexual predator was allowed to escape ICE after a judge let him leave via back door.

Gerardo Miguel Mora, 45, had been arrested for shoplifting and possession of stolen property after allegedly stealing… pic.twitter.com/WteJxxYzzn

— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) February 1, 2026

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According to police sources, Mora has a serious violent criminal history.

In 2011, he was arrested for attempted rape and strangulation after allegedly following a 21-year-old woman to her residence in Midtown Manhattan, choking her and attempting to remove her clothing.

Authorities said a bystander heard the woman’s screams, intervened, and restrained Mora until police arrived.

Law enforcement sources indicated Mora was deported following that arrest and remained out of law enforcement databases for more than a decade.

He resurfaced in the United States in 2023, when he was arrested for allegedly presenting false identification.

Federal authorities later obtained a criminal arrest warrant for Mora under a provision of federal law addressing “reentry of removed aliens,” sources said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents delivered the warrant to Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Mora’s appearance.

Despite the warrant being provided to the court, Judge Sheridan Jack-Browne allowed Mora to leave the courthouse through a rear exit, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

The shoplifting charge itself was not bail-eligible, but sources said the federal warrant should have prompted Mora’s transfer into ICE custody.

“The warrant is actually put in a folder for the judge to peruse on the bench,” one source said. “Everything was sent over.”

Instead, Mora was released from the building, prompting ICE agents to pursue him outside the courthouse once they realized he had been allowed to leave. Agents ultimately apprehended Mora, who is now in federal custody.

“They refused to hand him over,” a federal law enforcement source said.

“They let him out the back to avoid ICE.”

Mora now faces potential prosecution by the Department of Justice, deportation, or both.

New York City’s sanctuary policies prohibit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, but law enforcement officials noted that allegations of actively preventing ICE from executing a criminal warrant are rare.

Sources said federal authorities have recently encountered at least three other instances in which warrants for criminal illegal aliens were not honored by local courts.

“Unfortunately, that’s what we do now,” said a longtime NYPD officer. “We don’t acknowledge any federal anything. I don’t think that’s right. They came into the country the wrong way, and they committed a crime.

“They should be deported,” the officer added.

“We should be able to hand them over to the feds.”

Federal prosecutors have previously pursued cases against members of the judiciary accused of interfering with immigration enforcement.

In Wisconsin, Judge Hannah Dugan was convicted last year on felony obstruction charges after assisting an illegal alien in evading ICE agents inside her courtroom. She faces up to five years in prison.

Judge Jack-Browne and the New York State Office of Court Administration did not respond to requests for comment. The Department of Homeland Security also declined to comment.

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