Adams says NYC is coordinating with ICE as mass migrant deportations loom
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said his administration has been coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with regard to deporting illegal criminal migrants.
Adams, a Democrat, said that migrants who commit violent crimes in the Big Apple would be dealt with by federal agencies despite the city’s sanctuary city laws.
"There is a lot of room, we already have task forces with federal partners," Adams said when asked if his administration can work ICE and at the same time comply with its sanctuary city law, which limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
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"The law is clear, the law is clear of criminality. I've made that clear," Adams said. "Even before the elections, I made that clear with the focus that people who commit these violent crimes must be addressed."
New York City experienced an unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants under the Biden administration, with more than 225,000 migrants arriving since 2022. The surge also coincides with a sharp rise in migrant-related crime, while the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has also gained a foothold in the city.
Adams attended Monday’s inauguration where President Trump vowed to end illegal immigration and promised to deport "millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came."
The mayor said that the NYPD would also not be prevented from working with ICE in its deportation efforts.
"There's no restriction with the NYPD to coordinate with the various task forces around criminality," Adams said.
"There's no restrictions. Nothing has changed there. We're going to continue to collaborate with all of our federal partners when it comes down to illegal behaviors," he continued. "I was very clear for almost a year and a half now, those who commit violent crimes in our city have violated their right to be in our city and in our country and we're going to continue to collaborate with those around criminality."
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Border "czar" Tom Homan said on "America Reports" on Tuesday that ICE has begun the process of deporting some migrants.
"ICE teams are out there as of today. We gave them direction to prioritize public safety threats that we're looking for. So we were working up the target list," Homan said.
On Monday, Trump declared a national border emergency and signed a flurry of executive orders aimed at curbing illegal immigration, including canceling the CBP One app, which was created in 2020 to schedule appointments at points of entry into the U.S.
Trump also ordered government agencies to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), known as the Remain-in-Mexico policy. That policy, which was ended by the Biden administration during Trump's first term, required migrants to stay in Mexico for the duration of their asylum hearings.
Another order directed U.S. troops to be deployed to the border under U.S. Northern Command to prioritize U.S. border and territorial integrity in strategic planning.
President Trump also designated international cartels and organizations, including MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Tren de Aragua, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). An FTO designation allows for targeted action against members, including financial penalties.
He also signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.