Eric Adams wants to deport migrants accused of serious crimes

For years, New York City’s leaders have enjoyed the status of a so-called sanctuary city, where cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials is limited.

Mayor Eric Adams made it clear Tuesday that his views were different. If he had his way, he said he would allow law enforcement in New York City to openly cooperate with immigration authorities to more easily deport migrants suspected — and not necessarily convicted — of serious crimes.

“There are people who believe they should be able to stay here and continue doing their crimes until they are finally convicted,” he said. “I don’t subscribe to that theory.”

A reporter asked Mr. Adams, a first-term Democrat, about due process.

“They did not give the person they shot, beat or killed a fair trial,” the mayor countered. “There is simply a philosophical disagreement here.”

Any changes to the city’s sanctuary laws will require the cooperation of the City Council. Adrienne Adams, the council’s president, made clear that there were “no plans to revisit these laws,” a spokesperson said.

Mr. Adams’ comments follow a series of crimes that police say have been committed by migrants in New York City and have received widespread press attention. They also follow the arrest of Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan migrant in Georgia accused of killing a nursing student. Last year, Mr. Ibarra was arrested in New York City, accused of riding a scooter without a license and riding with a minor not wearing a helmet, according to a senior law enforcement source.

Mr. Ibarra was not prosecuted or imprisoned. The records are sealed and it was not clear whether he was instead issued a citation or fined for a motor vehicle violation. It was also unclear whether the sanctuary law had any impact on the handling of the case.

The Adams administration continues to grapple with a migrant crisis that has brought about 180,000 migrants to the five boroughs. New York City, which by law must provide shelter to anyone who needs it, is now home to about 65,000 migrants, many of whom are in limbo as they wait for work permits.

Mr. Adams’ comments, made during his weekly question-and-answer session with reporters, drew condemnation from immigrant rights advocates and support from some local Republican officials.

“I think he’s taking the majority position,” said Joseph Borelli, a Republican councilman from Staten Island. “Even if you are someone who believes that we should be a place of refuge, the majority of New Yorkers believe that once you cross the line and commit violent or repeat crimes, you have forfeited that right.”

Mr Adams’ comments on Tuesday also earned the support from Nicole Malliotakis, the Republican congresswoman from Staten Island.

New York City’s Sanctuary City laws are intended to limit, but do not completely eliminate, official cooperation with immigration authorities. Police are still required to extradite migrants convicted of any of more than 170 serious crimes in the past five years, in cases where a judge has signed off on a request.

“We are not in a country where the fact that someone suspects you of throwing a bottle at a police officer should automatically lead to your deportation,” said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. “That is simply not the rule of law.”

Mr Adams has generally sought to soften his criticism of the impact of the migrant flow by adding that the vast majority of migrants are law-abiding. But his tendency to complain about the city’s sanctuary laws has done little to endear him to public defenders or immigrant advocates.

Rolling back the law would spread “terror” among immigrants and “put countless New Yorkers at risk of being separated from their families and deported without due process,” the Legal Aid Society and several other public defender organizations said in a joint statement.

During the press conference, Mr. Adams asked his lead attorney, Lisa Zornberg, for a brief, prepared history of New York City’s sanctuary laws.

Mrs. Zornberg obeyed. She said former Mayor Edward I. Koch signed an executive order in 1989 that recognized that people’s immigration status is confidential but said city staff could turn that information over to federal authorities if a person was suspected of engaging in with criminal activities.

Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg issued a similar set of executive orders that replaced Mr. Koch’s.

The city’s position changed in 2014 and 2017, when the City Council passed laws limiting New York City from honoring federal detention requests for immigrants suspected of criminal activity, with many exceptions for serious crimes.

The laws were intended to reassure immigrants that they could report crimes or seek other help without fear of deportation.

Melissa Mark-Viverito, the former Council president who led the effort to enact the 2014 law, accused Mr. Adams of “regurgitating” Republican talking points that discriminate against Latino asylum seekers.

“You are made a scapegoat if you have no solutions and are always looking for the easy way out,” says Ms. Mark-Viverito.

Chelsia Rose Marcius reporting contributed.