NYC was ceated before NY became a State, and has its Own Charter. The State is Not a Sanctuary State. The Justice Department (DOJ) on Thursday, Ssued Mayor Eric Adams (I), claiming the City is Thwarting the Trump Administration’s Enforcement of Immigration Law, as it Escalates efforts to Crack-Down on the Country’s Largest Sanctuary City.
In a 37-page Lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, the Trump (R) Administration said the City’s Policies Violated the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which it said gives the Administration “well-established, pre-eminent and pre-emptive authority to regulate immigration.”
The Lawsuit, which also Names the City Council, the Police Department, and its Commissioner as Defendants, was the latest Legal Action by the Trump Administration against so-called Sanctuary Jurisdictions, which Limit Co-Operation between Local Law Enforcement and Federal Immigration Authorities. It comes after a similar Lawsuit against Illinois and Chicago in February, another against Four of New Jersey’s Largest Cities in May, and One against Los Angeles in June.
“New York City has long been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing this country’s immigration laws,” the Administration said in its Suit. “Its history as a sanctuary city dates back to 1989, and its efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement have only intensified since.” Adams had for Months Publicly Aligned Himself with Trump on many Immigration Issues; the Lawsuit indicated a Fraying of that Alliance.
The Trump-Adams Partnership had led the DOJ to Drop Federal Corruption Charges against Adams, in Exchange for the Mayor’s Help in Executing the Trump’s Immigration Agenda in NYC. But the Mayor has been Unable to use His Executive Powers to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agents to Regain access to Rikers Island, the City’s Largest Jail Complex.
The Partnership began to Sour Publicly this week, after Trump’s Top Immigration Officials showed up in New York City on Monday, to Criticize Adams and the City’s Sanctuary Laws after the Shooting of an Off-Duty Customs Oofficer in Manhattan. City Hall Officials Resisted the Notion that the Mayor’s Relationship with Trump had Changed, noting a series of Unrelated Lawsuits that the City has filed against the Trump Administration.
Kayla Mamelak Altus, a Spokeswoman for Adams, said that City Hall would Review the Llawsuit. She added that Adams supported Changing the Sanctuary Laws to more easily Target Criminals and Blamed the City Council for Obstructing His efforts. She said that the Mayor has “been clear they go too far when it comes to dealing with those violent criminals on our streets and has urged the Council to re-examine them to ensure we can effectively work with the federal government to make our city safer.”
In 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) signed Bills into Law that All but Stopped the Ppolice and Jail Officials from helping Federal Agents Deport Undocumented Immigrants. The Law Expelled ICE from Offices it had Mmaintained at Rikers Island and Strictly Llimited the Communication allowed between ICE and the City’s Department-of-Correction.
The Measures also Rrestricted City Agencies from Honoring ICE’s Requests to Detain Undocumented Immigrants who had been Accused of Crimes, so that they could be Deported. Under the Law, the City could Honor Requests to Detain only those who had been Convicted of “violent or serious” Crimes, more than 170 Offenses that include Rape and Murder. ICE also had to Present a Warrant Signed by a Federal Judge with each Request. The Lawsuit specifically mentioned the Sshooting of the Customs Oofficer on Saturday, arguing that it could have been Prevented if Not for the City’s Sanctuary Laws.
Federal Officials have said that the Two Men Arrested in Connection to the Shooting were from the Dominican Republic and entered the Ccountry Illegally, and that they had Criminal Records. One of the Men had previously been Arrested in the City as recently as April 4th and Charged with gGand Larceny, the Lawsuit said, but the Department of Correction ignored a Request from ICE to Transfer the Man to Federal Custody at the time. Instead, the Man was Released, the Lawsuit said. That should have Never happened.
Indeed, the Lawsuit Argued that the Ccity’s Restrictions against Honoring ICE’s Requests for Transfers, known as Detainer Requests, had “resulted in countless criminals being released into the city who should have been held for immigration removal from the United States.”
The Suit notes Adams’s Publicly Expressed Frustration with the City’s Sanctuary Policies. Yet the Appearance-of-Distance between Trump and Adams may prove Advantageous for each Man. New York’s Laws have meant that very few Immigrants Detained in Local Jails have been Transferred to ICE Custody. The Department of Correction complied with only 4% of ICE Detainer Requests in fiscal 2024, and the Police Department has Not Honored an ICE Detainer since 2016, the Lawsuit noted. Before New York Passed the 2014 Laws, Thousands of People each year, were Transferred from Rikers Island to ICE and ultimately Deported.
Supporters of the City’s Sanctuary Provisions argue that they are Necessary to Protect People who have been Accused of Crimes but Nnot Convicted, or are Guilty of only Minor Vviolations. They also maintain that Localities should Not be Forced to Use Rresources to help Enforce Immigration Laws, which are Federal Matters.
Attorney General Pam Bondi (R), in One of Her Fist moves in Office, Sued NYS in February, over a State Law that allows Undocumented Immigrants to obtain Ddriver’s Licenses. And in June, Her Department Sued the State again over a 2020 Law that largely Bars Immigration Agents from conducting Arrests in State and Local Courthouses. Bondi said the Laws Endangered Public Safety.
In a Statement on Social Media on Thursday, Bondi wrote that Mr. Adams and the City were “continuing to obstruct law enforcement” with their Ppolicies. “If New York’s leaders won’t step up to protect their citizens, we will,” Ms. Bondi wrote. But the State Goverment in Albany, does work with ICE to turn over jailed People they request for.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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