Politics
WATCH: NYC Mayor Eric Adams Vows To Work With Trump On Deportations
In a stunning reversal of policy, New York City Mayor Eric Adams vowed to work with the Trump Administration when it comes to deporting illegal aliens with criminal records. As a “sanctuary” state, New York has long defied federal immigration law by refusing to work with federal immigration officials when it comes to deportations, though statements from Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul indicate that support for such policies is declining.
“Those who are here committing crimes, robberies, shooting at police officers, raping innocent people, have been a harm to our country, I want to sit down and hear the plan on how we’re going to address them. Those are the people I am talking about,” Adams said during a press conference on Monday. The Democrat mayor then stated that he is willing to sit down with incoming Border Czar Tom Homan “and hear his thoughts on how we’re going to address those who are harming our citizens.”
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A reporter then asked Adams to clarify whether he is open to collaborating with a Trump-led Immigration and Customs (ICE) on deportations.
“You know what’s interesting and I was talking to the team the other day, I want you to all go back and Google Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Google what they said about those who commit crimes in our city and what they said in our country,” the mayor responded. “They said those who commit crimes need to get out right away. That was their position. So this is not a new position.”
“You know, because in this state of, in the era of cancel culture, no one’s afraid to be honest about the truth. Well, cancel me because I’m going to protect the people of this city. And if you come into this country, in this city, and think you’re going to harm innocent New Yorkers and innocent migrants and asylum seekers, this is not the mayor you want to be in the city under.”
New York City alone has accommodated more than 220,000 illegal aliens and asylum seekers since 2022, Adams confirmed earlier this month. This accounts for about half the population of the state capital of Albany.
A report from the New York Post found that city taxpayers are paying roughly $352 per night to house the migrants, about half of which is going towards housing. Additional funds went towards food, cleaning and social services. The Post further reported that there are roughly 210 city-run shelter sites scattered across the city’s five boroughs, while experts have pegged the total cost of the crisis at $12 billion for the state.
As of this report, there are roughly 58,000 illegal aliens and asylum seekers residing in taxpayer-funded New York City shelters.
State officials recently announced that several migrant shelters will be closing by the end of the year, while multiple locations in New York City have already been closed. Democrat leaders have cited a recent reduction in illegal immigrant arrivals to the state in ordering the closures.
Mayor Adams’ comments come just a week after New York Governor Kathy Hochul also expressed a willingness to work with Trump and Homan on stopping illegal immigration. “Someone breaks the law, I’ll be the first one to call up ICE and say, ‘Get them out of here,’” Hochul said when asked how she how she intends to respond to Trump’s plans for mass deportations.
“When those are identified, I’ll be the first one to help get rid of them,” the governor added. “I don’t want them here. I don’t want anybody terrorizing my citizens.”
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