The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against New York City, challenging its sanctuary city laws.
It comes less than a week after an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol officer was shot in Manhattan by an undocumented immigrant. On Thursday, the DOJ charged two suspects, alleging they are Dominican Republic nationals in the U.S. illegally. Police sources told CBS News New York the NYPD believes the suspects to be associates of the Trinitarios gang.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan were furious after the shooting, with Homan promising to “flood the zone” with immigration agents to go after undocumented immigrants, especially those with a history of violence.
“Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals, hard stop,” Homan said.
Sanctuary city laws in focus
Homan expressed his irritation with sanctuary cities, especially New York, at the White House on Thursday, just hours before the Justice Department sued Mayor Eric Adams, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and others for making it more difficult for immigration agents to arrest undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.
“The challenged provisions of New York City law reflect the City’s intentional effort to obstruct the United States’ enforcement of federal immigration law, by (among much else) impeding the consultation and communication between federal and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for the United States to enforce the law and keep Americans safe,” the lawsuit claims.
“New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.”
The New York Immigration Coalition called the lawsuit frivolous.
“Sanctuary policies simply tell all New Yorkers, regardless of your immigration status, that if you are a victim of a crime or witness a crime, feel free to go to law enforcement,” said Murad Awawdeh, the organization’s president and CEO. “Localities as well as states have the right to create policies and laws that keep their constituencies safe, and that’s what our sanctuary policies do.”
Federal officials have been particularly upset that the City Council went to court to stop an executive order issued by the Adams administration to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to work on Rikers Island, where they could identify undocumented immigrants who may be in the country illegally and have committed crimes.
“We’re going to flood the zones”
“I made a statement the other day about New York. We’re going to flood the zones. The sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want, more agents in the communities and more worksite enforcement. Why is that? Because they won’t let one agent arrest one bad guy in a jail. They’re going to release a public safety threat back in the community. Now, I’ve got to send the whole team to go find that person. So you know, we’re going to find the bad guy whether they help us or not,” Homan said.
City Hall responded with the following statement:
“The job of a mayor is to protect the safety of every single person in their city — and that’s exactly what Mayor Adams has worked to do every day for nearly four years. Keeping New Yorkers safe also means making sure they feel safe, and Mayor Adams has been clear: no one should be afraid to dial 911, send their kids to school, or go to the hospital, and no New Yorker should feel forced to hide in the shadows. That’s why the mayor supports the essence of the local laws put in place by the City Council — but he has also 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. So far, the Council has refused. We will review the lawsuit,” a spokesperson for Mayor Adams said.
The DOJ action was applauded not only by Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, but by the City Council’s Common Sense Caucus.
Trump administration continues pressure on sanctuary city laws
One of Bondi’s first directives after she was sworn in as attorney general focused on sanctuary jurisdictions. She issued an order to end funding to any that “unlawfully interfere with federal law enforcement operations,” and encouraged the department to pursue enforcement actions against sanctuary cities or states that do not comply with the federal government’s immigration efforts.
The Trump administration again targeted sanctuary cities after protests over ICE’s “expedited removals” policy, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul testified before Congress about the state’s sanctuary policies.
