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New York City’s Democratic Mayor Eric Adams stated he is working to amend the city’s sanctuary laws to allow greater cooperation with federal authorities in deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records.
New York City’s sanctuary status currently limits city officials from working with the federal government to enforce immigration laws targeting undocumented individuals.
In a significant shift, Adams recently met with former President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, to develop a plan to deport dangerous illegal immigrants. “We both agreed on: violent individuals should not remain in our country,” Adams told Fox News in an exclusive interview with Martha MacCallum.
However, Adams expressed frustration with federal and city regulations that hinder his ability to curb the influx of illegal immigrants into the city. He specifically criticized federal rules that prevent turning away illegal immigrants or enabling them to work and earn a living while residing in the city. Additionally, he called out local laws that guarantee indefinite shelter for anyone.
Adams noted a recent court victory allowing the city to reduce the indefinite shelter guarantee to 30 days. He credited the policy shift with helping decrease the number of new arrivals from 220,000 to 50,000.
Homan has also proposed reopening Rikers Island, the notorious detention complex, as a deportation processing site. However, Adams explained that the city’s current sanctuary laws prohibit such a move, as they prevent ICE agents from accessing governmental facilities. “The law that was passed under the previous administration said that no ICE officer can be in any governmental building,” Adams stated. “There are exceptions to that. We are looking at those exceptions.”
The mayor is also exploring the possibility of issuing an executive order to bypass certain sanctuary regulations, enabling his administration to cooperate more directly with ICE. “My legal team is going to sit down with his legal team to determine if an executive order can change that,” Adams added.
Adams and Homan also discussed efforts to locate over 320,000 migrant children who were trafficked into the country and remain unaccounted for. Homan expressed concerns that many of these children may have fallen victim to abuse or sex trafficking.
Homan commended Adams’ efforts, describing the mayor as genuinely interested in improving public safety and locating the missing children. “I truly believe sitting down with him, I saw the cop come out of him,” Homan said. “He really wants to help with public safety threats and finding these children.”
Despite his collaboration with Homan, Adams maintains his opposition to deporting law-abiding undocumented immigrants who work and pay taxes. He also defended the rights of DREAMers, individuals brought to the U.S. as children, to remain in the country.
Trump has similarly proposed working with Democrats on a solution to grant DREAMers legal status. However, Trump’s broader deportation plan targets undocumented immigrants without criminal records, a goal Adams does not yet appear to support.
While Adams’ cooperation in deporting criminals is a step toward aligning with Trump’s immigration policies, the mayor continues to face political challenges, including allegations of corruption and bribery from foreign sources—charges he has denied.
