New York City Mayor Eric Adams, during a town hall event on Monday, expressed his concerns over the city's sanctuary status, which he believes hinders the deportation of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers found guilty of criminal activities.
Adams advocated for a broader range of options for lawmakers to deport illegal immigrants involved in criminal activities.
Sanctuary cities, counties, and states, including New York City, currently operate under local laws that prevent local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration officials for deportation purposes. This essentially shields illegal immigrants from federal authorities who may wish to deport them. This practice was amplified during the Trump administration when numerous Democrat-led cities and states sought to counteract his federal restrictions on illegal immigration.
In 2020, during Trump's final year in office, fewer than 500,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the US-Mexico border. However, under President Biden, this figure has escalated to over 2 million.
Mayor Adams stated, "The overwhelming amount of migrants that are here, they want to work; I still don't understand why the federal government's not allowing them to work." He added, "They need to have the right to work like all of us that have come to this country had the ability to do so." Present law prohibits asylum seekers from immediately obtaining work permits. Illegal immigrants who have applied for asylum must wait before they can legally seek employment.
Adams continued, "But those small numbers that are committing crimes, we need to modify the sanctuary city law that if you commit a felony, a violent act, we should be able to turn you over to [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and have you deported. It is a right to live in this city, and you should not be committing crimes in our city." He expressed his regret that the city currently lacks the authority to enforce this.
Adams' remarks follow a series of violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants in the city. Several Venezuelan gang members have been charged with brutally assaulting NYPD officers in Times Square and perpetrating robberies. There is growing concern among law enforcement that these Venezuelan gangs may align with the violent MS-13 gang.
New York City, which became a sanctuary city in the 1980s under Democrat Mayor Ed Koch, has welcomed countless illegal immigrants. However, with the escalating border crisis overwhelming southern states, an unprecedented number of illegal immigrants have been relocated to New York City and other sanctuary cities like Chicago.
Mayor Adams has repeatedly warned that this influx could "destroy" the city and has urged the federal government to provide assistance for the nearly 10,000 additional individuals that NYC officials must provide with shelter, food, and other resources each month.
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