New York City Mayor Eric Adams has told incoming border czar Tom Homan he wants to reopen the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office on Rikers Island, the New York Post reported on Friday.
On Thursday, Adams met with Homan and discussed his willingness to cooperate with the administration of President-elect Donald Trump to curb the flow of illegal immigrants.
"I truly believe sitting down with him, I saw the cop come out of him," Homan told the outlet. "I think he really wants to help with public safety threats, and he really wants to help find these children."
The Rikers ICE office closed in 2015 following a sanctuary city law signed by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, but the scourge of crime coming from illegal migrants in New York has forced Adams to focus on protecting the city's legal residents. Recent data from ICE showed there are 58,000 illegal migrants convicted felons or facing criminal charges currently living in New York City alone.
"We've made terrible mistakes in the past by preventing — to keep our city safe from those who have committed repeated acts of violence, particularly these dangerous gangs that we have witnessed in our city, and we're not going to continue in that direction," Adams told reporters.
Adams perceived flip-flop on the issue had been met with harsh rebuke from local New York officials. Democrat deputy Council Speaker Diana Ayala said Adams words were veering close to "harassment of these poor people."
"Quite frankly, I am disappointed about everything that is coming out of his mouth as of late. He needs to cut it out because we will fight that vigorously, and its going to be a problem," Ayala said. "Our mayor is completely out of touch with our own laws, what he can and cannot do," she added, "and he is making the wrong call."
Councilman Lincoln Restler agreed saying Adam's change of heart has more to do with his own self-preservation than a sudden alignment with Trump's hardlines stance on immigration. "The last thing New York City needs is ICE in schools, shelters, and jails advancing their mass deportation schemes," he said. "It's clear Mayor Adams is more interested in securing a pardon from the incoming Trump administration than protecting immigrant New Yorkers and upholding our sanctuary city laws."