NYC Mayor Adams Says Sanctuary Laws Should Be Modified
After staying quiet on his position for weeks, Mayor Adams came out in favor of modifying the city’s sanctuary status laws late Monday, lending his support to mostly conservative voices who have called for abolishing the local immigration protections in the wake of several high-profile crimes involving migrants.
BREAKING: A stunning turnaround from NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who is now calling for NYC’s sanctuary city law to be changed so that some illegal immigrants who commit felonies can be turned over to ICE for deportation. https://t.co/h0N7UqOnM7
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 27, 2024
The sanctuary laws, which date back to the 1980s, prohibit city government workers and agencies from helping federal immigration authorities with tracking down and detaining immigrants residing in the five boroughs for deportation purposes. There are exceptions to the laws that allow the city to cooperate with the feds in some cases, including if an immigrant has been convicted of a serious or violent crime.
Existing laws do not permit the city to cooperate with the feds if a foreign national has merely been charged with a crime. In a town hall-style event in Brooklyn on Monday night, Adams said the existing laws are too lax and that he wants to see them changed.
“The overwhelming number of migrants and asylum seekers that are here, they want to work, 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 ICE and have you deported,” Adams said.
“It is a right to live in this city, and you should not be committing crimes in our city. Right now, we don’t have the authority to do so,” Adams added.
The massive arrival of illegal immigrants with criminal records, along with other progressive policies, has caused a significant increase in attacks on police officers in the Big Apple during 2023.
According to a report, approximately 5,000 officers were injured in the line of duty, setting a record for the city. In response, the Fraternal Order of Police has urged the repeal of sanctuary city laws that limit collaboration with ICE.
The mayor’s support for modifications to the laws was hailed on social media by voices on the far-right end of the political spectrum.