New York Mayor Eric Adams met with incoming border czar Thomas Homan to discuss plans to remove what he says were violent undocumented immigrants.
Thursday’s closed-door meeting was the latest correspondence between the incoming Trump administration and Adams, who faces federal bribery and fraud charges.
The mayor spoke about his meeting at a press conference, and began by warning reporters that they have “preconceived ideas” and “distorted views” about his immigration policies.
While Adams said the city will “protect the rights of immigrants who are workers and are giving back to the city in a positive way,” the mayor repeatedly said he and Homan agree they don’t share the same kindness. Immigrants who commit violent crimes.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams meets with President-elect Donald Trump’s border tsar Tom Homan and President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security Chairman Kenneth Genalo, in New York, Dec. 12, 2024.
Michael Appleton/Mayor’s Office of Photography
“We are not going to be a safe haven for those who commit violent acts. We don’t do it for citizens and we won’t do it for undocumented citizens,” Adams said.
Homan, who served as acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the first Trump administration, has been sworn in. “shock and awe” the first day of action against undocumented immigrants. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants when he takes office and has threatened local leaders who oppose his proposal.
States and municipalities cannot act as federal immigration enforcement agents without an agreement, according to federal law.
Sixty counties and police districts, many of them in Florida, have them 287(g) entered into agreements With ICE, in which local law enforcement can make immigration policies on behalf of the federal government, such as executing warrants and detaining undocumented immigrants, Elora Mukherjee, director of Columbia Law School’s immigration clinic, told ABC News last month.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams meets with President-elect Donald Trump’s border tsar Tom Homan and President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security Chairman Kenneth Genalo, in New York, Dec. 12, 2024.
Michael Appleton/Mayor’s Office of Photography
The mayor said his legal team is talking with ICE’s legal team about ways to work together. Adams said he is considering using executive orders, but did not elaborate.
He also mentioned South American gang activity in the city and on Long Island when asked about more specifics on violent crime by undocumented immigrants, but did not go into further detail.
Adams was mum when a reporter asked her when she and Homan discussed proposals to deport undocumented immigrants who had not committed a crime in the city.
“From what I’ve heard from the head of ICE, we have the same desire to go after those who commit acts of violence, repeat acts of violence against innocent New Yorkers, migrants and asylum seekers,” the mayor said.
The mayor’s office later released more details in a press release about the meeting, including Adams’ re-offering of proposals to solve the city’s immigration problems. This includes pushing for immigration reform at the federal level and providing the city with resources to combat misinformation for asylum seekers and other immigrants.
The mayor also called for more federal funding to deal with the influx of migrants, according to his office.
Adams has had several conversations with Trump’s team since the election, which has sparked controversy and questions from critics of the mayor’s ongoing criminal case.
He became the first New York City mayor to be indicted when federal prosecutors accused him of bribery in September. accept fraud and unsolicited donations from a foreign donor.
An investigation dating back to Adams’ tenure as Brooklyn mayor alleged that the mayor exchanged political favors with Turkish businessmen and officials in exchange for gifts, hotel stays and flights.
The five-count indictment also alleges that Adams participated in a foreign straw donor scheme that helped him obtain matching funds for his 2021 mayoral campaign.
Adams has pleaded not guilty, brushed aside calls for his resignation and denied wrongdoing. He also dodged questions about whether Trump has sought a pardon.
Mayor Eric Adams speaks at a news conference after President-elect Donald Trump meets with Tom Homan’s proposed border czar, on Dec. 12, 2024, in New York.
Yuki Iwamura/AP
It’s a trial scheduled for April and the prosecutor said that the investigation is progressing.
Many of the mayor’s critics, including City Comptroller Brad Lander, who will run against Adams in the Democratic primary, chastised the mayor for meeting with Homan.
“Eric Adams is so focused on cozying up to Trump that he is willing to deny people due process and jeopardize the safety of families. This sweeping embrace of Trump’s xenophobic policies is a betrayal of all who call New York City home,” he said in a statement.
