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John Binder (Breitbart)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) are under mounting pressure to suspend the city and state’s sanctuary policy that shields criminal illegal aliens from deportation.
Since President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory last month, Adams and Hochul have both voiced support for aiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents with deporting criminal illegal aliens from New York — one of the nation’s largest sanctuary states.
“Someone breaks the law, I’ll be the first one to call up ICE and say, ‘Get them out of here,’” Hochul said during a press conference last month.
Democrats and Republicans on the New York City Council are now urging Hochul to back up her words and suspend the state’s sanctuary law that bans local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE agents.
“The recent surge in violent crime, including incidents involving migrant gangs in Central Park and Queens parks — where they have been reported to be raping, robbing, assaulting, and even shooting at police officers — demands immediate and decisive action,” the coalition of councilmembers write to Hochul:
We urge you to consider issuing an executive order under the emergency powers granted to your office that would allow New York City to temporarily waive its sanctuary city laws. This would enable federal agencies, including ICE, to work more effectively with local law enforcement to address these grave threats. During the COVID-19 pandemic, your office and that of your predecessor utilized executive orders to respond swiftly to the crisis. We believe that the current situation, with its potential for terror-related activities and the escalating violence in the city, warrants a similar response.
The letter was led by Robert Holden (D-Queens) and signed by Joseph Borelli (R-Staten Island), Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn), David Carr (R-Staten Island), Kalman Yeger (R-Brooklyn), Joann Ariola (R-Queens), Vickie Paladino (R-Queens), Kristy Marmorato (R-Bronx), and Susan Zhuang (D-Brooklyn).
Similarly, Holden sent a letter to Adams pressing him to begin lobbying in opposition to New York City’s sanctuary policy. In particular, Holden said Adams should start by reopening the shuttered ICE office at Rikers Island.
“Tough talk is good, but actions speak louder,” Holden said:
The mayor had the chance to amend or repeal sanctuary city laws through his Charter Revision Commission but chose not to. Now, it’s time to right these wrongs. To truly show commitment to public safety, Mayor Adams should reopen the ICE office at Rikers Island and give the NYPD, Department of Corrections, and Department of Probation the ability to communicate with ICE and honor detainers for criminal migrants. [Emphasis added]
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) had the ICE office at Rikers Island closed in 2015.
This week, Adams blasted President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for their releasing millions of migrants into the United States — hundreds of thousands of whom have ended up in New York City.
“We didn’t invest in seniors the way we should have and young people … the crimes that we witnessed … we all should be angry about what happened to this city under this administration,” Adams said.
Adams said he wants to work with Trump and incoming border czar Thomas Homan to help deport criminal illegal aliens from New York City.
“Those who are here committing crimes, robberies, shooting at police officers, raping innocent people, have been a harm to our country. I want to sit down and hear the plan on how we’re going to address them,” Adams said. “Those are the people I am talking about. I would love to sit down with the border czar and hear his thoughts on how we’re going to address those who are harming our citizens.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.
