(NewsNation) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants to alter some of the city’s sanctuary laws by calling for migrants suspected of major crimes to be turned over to federal immigration officials.
This is his most drastic criticism of the laws protecting migrants in the city from being deported. Adams’ comments won immediate praise from Republicans.
“I want to go back to the standards of the previous mayors, who I believe subscribe to my belief that people who are suspected of committing serious crimes in this city should be held accountable,” Adams told reporters at City Hall.
When asked about the due process that is granted to anyone accused of a crime, Adams said, “They didn’t give due process to the person that they shot or punched or killed.”
Adams’ comments refer to a policy shift that came in under Mayor Ed Koch in the late 1980s, which, in part, allowed police to hold migrants charged with crimes for longer so U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could lodge a detainer on them.
These policies evolved and spanned five mayoral administrations until Adams’ predecessor, Bill de Blasio, instituted a law that removed ICE from Department of Corrections facilities and barred the NYPD from honoring detention requests from ICE.
“The mere fact that we cannot share with ICE that this person has committed three robberies, that this person is part of an organized gang crew, the mere fact that we can’t say that or communicate that, that’s problematic for me,” Adams said.
Adams’ shift in stance follows a string of recent high-profile incidents involving recently arrived migrants who are accused of violent crimes, including a recent shooting during a robbery in Times Square.
Some Republican lawmakers who have previously railed against Adams and denounced sanctuary city rules applauded this call for change while demanding he go further.
“If he’s serious about changing the city’s sanctuary laws, he should take executive action or give the City Council legislation to repeal the disastrous 2014 sanctuary law to untie the hands of our NYPD and allow them to cooperate with federal immigration officials who can deport these dangerous individuals from our city,” GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island said in a statement.
But by embracing calls to roll back the laws, Adams had lent credence to the idea that migrants are fueling a rise in crime, according to Zachary Ahmad, an attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union.
“Mayor Adams’ shameful threats to end New York’s yearslong status as a sanctuary city will only result in the cruel targeting, demonization and demoralization of our immigrant neighbors,” he said. “Immigrants are not props for theatrics that put their lives at risk.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.