New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who initially presented himself as a moderate Democrat championing a return to law and order after the tumultuous reign of Bill de Blasio, is seemingly on a path to an ignominious end to his mayoral tenure.
According to RedState, Pam Bondi, the former head of President Donald Trumps Department of Justice, has initiated a lawsuit against Adams, other city officials, and the city itself. The lawsuit alleges that they have obstructed law enforcement in relation to the city's extreme sanctuary city immigration policies.
In a recent post, Bondi stated, "If New York's leaders won't step up to protect their citizens, we will." The lawsuit, lodged in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, accuses Adams and other city officials of refusing to honor ICE detainers, hindering communication and cooperation with federal immigration agents, and implementing sanctuary city policies that obstruct ICE's ability to arrest and deport illegal immigrants with criminal records.
The Department of Justice's complaint highlights the recent incident where two illegal immigrants ambushed an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer in Fort Washington Park. The lawsuit details, "They allegedly tried to rob the officer, shooting him in the face and the leg in the process. Both aliens entered the United States illegally and were repeatedly arrested for criminal behavior since. In fact, after an April 5, 2024, arrest for fourth-degree felony grand larceny and petit larceny, ICE placed an immigration detainer on one of the aliens." Despite this, the New York City Department of Correction disregarded the detainer and released the illegal immigrant back onto the streets.
The complaint further states, "But for New York Citys sanctuary policies, this tragedy could have been avoided," and quotes Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's criticism of the policy: How many more lives will it take, how many more people have to be hurt and victimized before we have public safety be a number one priority in some of our largest cities?
New York City's sanctuary city policies on immigration have been in place since 1989, when then-Mayor Ed Koch issued an executive order prohibiting city employees from sharing immigration status information with federal authorities, except under certain conditions.
The policy was expanded in 2011 and 2014 under then-Mayors Mike Bloomberg and Bill DiBlasio, further limiting cooperation with federal immigration agencies. In 2017, the city further expanded its sanctuary city policies by banning city agencies from using resources to assist in civil immigration enforcement.
The defendants in the lawsuit include the City of New York; Mayor Eric L. Adams; the New York City Council; Council Speaker Adrienne E. Adams; the New York City Department of Correction and its Commissioner, Lynelle Maginley-Liddie; the New York City Department of Probation and its Commissioner, Juanita N. Holmes; and the New York City Police Department, along with its Commissioner, Jessica S. Tisch.
Adams, who was indicted on five federal counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud, and soliciting illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals in September 2024, has seemingly distanced himself from his radical leftist counterparts in recent months, possibly in an attempt to reinvent his political career.
On April 3 of this year, Adams officially left the Democratic party and announced his intention to seek a second term in office as an independent candidate.
The success of Adams' independent strategy remains uncertain, given New York Citys deep Democratic roots and the emergence of Zohran Mamdani, a proud Democratic Socialist and the partys latest rising star. Adams' flirtation with radical extremism may have backfired, leaving his political future in jeopardy.
It is worth noting that Democrat politicians and their radical supporters are often accused of interfering with and threatening ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws. The importance of holding these leftists accountable and exposing their obstruction cannot be overstated.
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