Trump Administration Sues New York City Mayor Over Sanctuary Policies

The Trump Administration on Thursday filed a lawsuit against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and several city officials to challenge the city's sanctuary laws that protect the rights of undocumented immigrants.

New York’s sanctuary policies have allowed dangerous criminals to roam the streets and commit heinous crimes within the community, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release announcing the suit. These policies reflect an intentional effort to obstruct federal law enforcement and thus are preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the suit contends.

“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 Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.”

The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, is also against City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, city Department of Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, city Department of Probation Commissioner Juanita Holmes and New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch. 

Mayor Adams, who said he will "review the lawsuit," said it was his job to make every New Yorker feel safe. He also noted his displeasure over aspects of the city's sanctuary laws. 

"...we support the essence of the local laws put in place by the City Council– but I have also been clear they goo far when it comes to dealing with those violent criminals on our streets and have urged the Council to reexamine them to ensure we can effectively work with the federal government to make our city safer. So far the City Council has refused," the mayor's statement read on X. 

The DOJ lawsuit comes several days after an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was shot in a Manhattan in an apparent robbery.

The Trump administration has filed lawsuits against Los Angeles, New York State, Colorado, Illinois, the city of Rochester, New York, and several New Jersey cities to invalidate unconstitutional sanctuary policies.

The federal lawsuit is "frivolous" and an attack on New York’s ability to govern itself, said Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition. 

"Immigrants have built and rebuilt New York City and this nation for centuries, and our local government has correctly welcomed and embraced them as essential members of our New York community," he said. "Our local laws are designed to protect the public safety of every single New Yorker. When local police focus on protecting our neighborhoods rather than carrying out the federal government’s mass disappearance agenda, every New Yorker can feel secure enough to report crimes, access emergency services, and cooperate with investigations without fear of deportation."