New York City Democrat Mayor Eric Adams appears to be embracing President-elect Donald Trump's plan for mass deportation of illegal migrants.
Adams' city has felt the effects of the migrant crisis under President Joe Biden, especially after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing border crossers to the Big Apple in August 2022.
When the first buses from Texas arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the mayor personally welcomed the migrants. However, less than a year later, he was warning that the migrant crisis would "destroy New York City."
Adams, a former police officer, recently said migrants accused of crimes should not be entitled to due process under the Constitution and also said he was exploring whether he had the power to alter so-called sanctuary laws and allow the city to collaborate more closely with federal authorities to detain "dangerous" immigrants, The New York Times reported.
"In the last few weeks, he's obviously sharpened his rhetoric, sort of moving closer toward the Trump rhetoric," said George Arzt, a longtime political and communications consultant, The Times reported.
"He was like this on law-and-order rhetoric, and so now he's sort of melded the law-and-order with migrants."
Last week, Adams said that he planned to meet with Tom Homan, Trump's point man on the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
"I want people to talk to each other," Adams said, according to a news conference transcript. "And I made it clear that I'm not going to be warring with this administration. I'm going to be working with this administration. President Trump is the president-elect, and whomever he chooses to run his agencies, I'm looking forward to sit down and see how we better New York."
Adams insists his stance regarding migrants has not changed due to Trump.
"People are saying, OK, after the president-elect is coming in, Eric is now saying different things," Adams told WCBS on Sunday. "No, I was saying this prior to the election. I was saying those who are committing crimes in our city must be addressed."
Some people have suggested that Adams, who was indicted on federal corruption charges in September, could be buddying up to Trump in hopes of getting a presidential pardon.
"Some of the things he said about immigration would be music to the ears of the president-elect," former New York Gov. David Paterson said, The Times reported. "Given everything that is going on, it might not be the best political thing for him to do in the city, but it might be one of the best political things to do for himself."