NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he will allow federal immigration officials to operate at the city鈥檚 Rikers Island jail following a meeting Thursday with President Donald Trump鈥檚 border czar.
Adams said he will issue an executive order reestablishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence at the complex 鈥 one of the nation鈥檚 lockups 鈥 as had been the case under prior administrations.
The Democrat said ICE agents would be focused on assisting the correction department鈥檚 intelligence bureau in criminal investigations, particularly those focused on violent criminals and gangs.
鈥淎s I have always said, immigrants have been crucial in building our city and will continue to be key to our future success, but we must fix our long-broken immigration system,鈥 Adams said in a statement. 鈥淭hat is why I have been clear that I want to work with the new federal administration, not war with them, to find common ground and make better the lives of New Yorkers.鈥
Opponents dismissed the move as a 鈥渘eedless concession鈥 and 鈥渓egally dubious.鈥
鈥淚CE鈥檚 presence on Rikers serves no legitimate purpose, and opens the door to unlawful collusion between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials in violation of our city鈥檚 well-established sanctuary protections,鈥 Zach Ahmad, senior policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said.
Trump's border czar Thomas Homan argued that having an ICE presence at local jails is crucial to removing violent criminals who have entered the country illegally.
鈥淔or the naysayers, the city council who wants nothing to do with ICE, they need to understand: If we arrest the bad guy at Rikers Island, then the alien鈥檚 safe, the officer鈥檚 safe, the community鈥檚 safe,鈥 he said in an after the meeting.
New York City and agency have had troubled relationship
Homan met with Adams at a federal office building in Manhattan as the Republican administration pushes for more help detaining and deporting people accused of crimes.
ICE has long had a contentious relationship with New York, which has rules and laws limiting police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Immigration officials, for example, aren't able to request city jails hold people wanted for civil immigration law violations past when they would ordinarily be released from custody, under city policy.
New York City has also passed measures that curtail ICE鈥檚 access to public schools and other city properties.
Adams, who faces a Democratic primary in June, has said he favors loosening these so-called sanctuary policies, but he doesn鈥檛 have the broad power to do so as mayor.
Adams said he talked with Homan about ways to embed more New York police detectives into federal task forces focused on violent gangs and criminal activity, as well as allowing ICE agents to participate in regular meetings with law enforcement agencies in the city.
鈥淲e walked away with some real tangible things we can do together, and I鈥檓 looking forward to aligning with him and other federal partners to remove dangerous people from our streets,鈥 he said in a radio show interview after the meeting.
Mayor under pressure to cooperate
The Democrat is under unique pressure to cooperate with the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration crackdown.
On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan to against Adams so he could focus on assisting the president鈥檚 immigration agenda.
As of Thursday, the criminal charges remained in place. If the case is ultimately dropped, the Justice Department says it will conduct a review after the November mayoral election to assess whether it should be reinstated.
Immigration advocates worry Adams might feel pressure from the Trump administration to disregard or rescind some of the city鈥檚 sanctuary protections, which come from a patchwork of state and city laws and mayoral executive orders, some stretching back decades.
Adams has already to lawfully cooperate with Trump鈥檚 agenda around immigration and other issues, though the administration鈥檚 instructions have sparked confusion among some city workers and contractors.
Adams confirmed later that he also discussed with Homan restoring more than $80 million meant to defray the city's costs for that the Federal Emergency Management Agency unexpectedly Wednesday.
鈥淚鈥檓 not happy about losing $80 million, and we had a conversation on that,鈥 he said during a local television interview.
The Adams administration has leased several hotels and vacant buildings and repurposed them as migrant shelters as the city has tried to house an estimated 230,000 people who have arrived from the U.S. southern border in recent years.
Adams reflects on challenges he faces
In a local radio interview after the meeting, Adams also reflected on the week鈥檚 turn of events with a mix of relief and defiance.
鈥淚 did nothing wrong. No American should endure what I had to endure,鈥 he said on WABC, referring to the 鈥渉umiliation and embarrassment鈥 of the months-long federal corruption probe.
As he gears up for a bruising primary fight, Adams said he wants New Yorkers to see his resiliency.
鈥淲e鈥檝e all gone through some hard times,鈥 he said. 鈥淣o matter what you鈥檙e going through, have faith in yourself, faith in God, faith in your family, faith in your country and you will navigate through it.鈥
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Associated Press reporter Cedar Attanasio in New York contributed to this report.
