Lefty City Council members are forming the resistance to the “draconian immigration policies” of the incoming Trump administration — as they blasted Mayor Eric Adams for cozying up to the president-elect.
Members of the council’s Progressive Caucus on Thursday sounded alarms about Adams’ ability to protest the city’s 3.1 million immigrants from President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan, pointing to the mayor’s meeting last month with incoming “border czar” Tom Homan.
“I am embarrassed that our mayor decided to take a photo op and sit with that border czar and even entertain the idea that we might roll back our sanctuary city, that we might participate in this disgusting, racist, xenophobic idea of mass deportation. It’s a shame,” said Councilmember Sandy Nurse (D-North Brooklyn).
Nurse, the Progressive Caucus co-chair, implied Adams was angling for a presidential pardon as he faces a federal corruption indictment, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
“Just because [Adams] has his own problems with the law does not mean he should be stepping down on our immigrant communities and using them as a tool to get himself out of trouble,” Nurse said at a rally held prior to a Council Committee on Immigration hearing.
Councilmember Shaun Abreu (D-Upper West Side) also accused Adams of “cozying” up to Trump.
“He is in bed with the enemy,” Abreu said.
Following the hour-long Dec. 12 meeting with Homan, Adams announced he was eyeing an executive order to “unravel” what he called confusing rules and policies for how New York City can work with federal immigration authorities.
Abreu assured the about 150 rally-attendees that the council was doing “everything in our fiber to make sure we’re protecting everybody right now.”
Council members during the committee hearing considered two resolutions calling on the state Legislature to pass bills that would protect immigrants from deportation.
Resolution 2970, sponsored by Councilmember Shahana Hanif (D-Central Brooklyn), urges the Legislature to pass the New York for All Act, which would ensure state and local resources are not used to facilitate federal immigration enforcement.
The other, Resolution 2917, sponsored by Councilmember Crystal Hudson (D-Central Brooklyn), endorses the Access to Representation Act, which would establish a “universal right to counsel” for indigent New Yorkers who are subject to removal proceedings under federal immigration law.
Manuel Castro, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), said the administration doesn’t have a “public position” on the proposals.
Council members grilled Castro about the Adams administration’s “preparedness” for Trump’s mass deportation plans.
“New York City should not be complicit in Donald Trump’s deportation plans and, quite frankly, xenophobic, extremist and racist agenda,” Chair Alexa Aviles (D-South Brooklyn) said.
Castro, who noted he grew up as a DREAMer, said his office has been working since the summer of last year to prepare for potential changes to federal immigration policies.
“It’s hard to get into hypotheticals, but we are taking a close look at what may happen in the coming weeks and months, and we are preparing our city agencies to respond,” Castro said.
Castro said MOIA has partnered with the city Law Department to train staff on sanctuary city policies and executive orders, is working with non-profits to inform immigrant communities of city services and launched a communications campaign to inform immigrant communities of their rights under local and federal law.
MOIA also plans to launch “Immigration Legal Support Centers” by this summer, Castro said. The centers will receive an $18 million investment over three years to support up to 25 “community-rooted” organizations providing an array of immigrant legal services.
Under questioning, Castro said the $18 million is part of MOIA’s “baseline funding” and the agency currently has no plans to put any more funding toward immigrant legal services.
“The need is significant and will grow so we are thinking through our options,” Castro said. “New York City continues to be the city that invests more in legal services than any other city in the country.”
