New York City Mayor Eric Adams is exploring ways to get around current laws to deport undocumented immigrants. Adams said he may issue an emergency order to suspend the city’s sanctuary law, bypassing New York City Council opposition.
Adams said during a Sunday appearance on CBS’s “The Point with Marcia Kramer” that he’s willing to follow the order to uphold public safety.
“The City Council made it clear they don’t want to change that,” Adams said. “They stated they’re not willing to change the sanctuary city law. I think they’re wrong. I have my teams looking at my power as executive orders.”
The announcement aligns with President-elect Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportation once he takes office in January.
“We have to deal with the small number of violent offenders who are making their way into our country. In particular, it’s a very dangerous Venezuelan gang. It is not the overwhelming number of migrants and asylum seekers,” Adams said.
The decades-old law has bound The Big Apple since the 1980’s. The law, enshrined in 2014, protects undocumented individuals from federal intervention unless they are convicted of a serious crime. Concerns arose that undocumented residents might face deportation when reporting crimes or seeking medical assistance.
The protections prevent city resources from working with agencies to deport undocumented immigrants. Under the law, only U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials can arrest noncitizens.
City police cannot prevent a deportation from occurring.
A proposal from Adams would open the door for more cooperation with ICE agents and change the city’s sanctuary law. It’s something the majority of the city council opposed.
“What the law does is ensure there is due process,” said city council member Alexa Avilés.
Adams said, “Once the city council made it clear we’re not changing the sanctuary city laws to allow ICE to go after those dangerous offenders; once they made that clear, I went to plan B and said, ‘What are my options and my powers?’”
A city hall spokesperson said only the council has the power to revoke the policies, and if the mayor tries, he would be breaking the current law.
Adams is preparing to meet with Trump’s incoming Border Czar, Tom Homan, about New York’s estimated 400,000 migrant population.
The mayor said the city spent billions of dollars to feed and house the growing population across all five boroughs.
“People would demonize me because I’m trying to be honest, and I’m not going to try to find the right soundbite when I know what happens when you don’t do right for everyday people,” Adams said.
The mayor’s recent comments have faced resistance from city leaders and lawmakers. Many said Adams had supported the sanctuary law but recently changed his stance.
City Council member Robert Holden, D-Queens, said the mayor could have amended current laws but chose not to.
“Tough talk is good, but actions speak louder,” Holden said.
