The Department of Justice on Thursday filed a lawsuit against New York City Mayor Eric Adams over the city’s sanctuary policies that the Trump administration says led to an assault on a federal immigration officer.
A suspect in the country illegally with a lengthy criminal record was accused of shooting an off-duty Border Patrol officer during an attempted robbery Saturday. The incident led to outrage from senior Trump officials over New York City’s long-standing sanctuary policies, which extend certain protections to illegal immigrants and prevent authorities from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
After the Department of Homeland Security blamed Adams for the sanctuary policies, Attorney General Pam Bondi responded this week by suing New York City and its officials, including Adams, who was on generally friendly terms with the Trump administration. Adams is engaged in a tough battle for reelection against socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani and former New York City Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“The Department of Justice is suing New York City and Mayor Eric Adams for continuing to obstruct law enforcement with sanctuary city policies,” Bondi wrote in a post on X. “If New York’s leaders won’t step up to protect their citizens, we will.”
Adams, who has criticized aspects of sanctuary initiatives for years, has staunchly defended himself over allegations that he is to blame for the policy, pointing to the New York City Council as the only entity that has the power to change pro-sanctuary laws.
He has also blamed Cuomo in part for the Saturday incident, arguing that the former governor’s controversial 2019 bail reform law created a “revolving door” in the criminal justice system, allowing criminals to roam the streets.
“You know how outraged I am because of Andrew’s bail reform laws on how we have this revolving-door criminal justice system,” Adams said. “I am extremely angry that we have a … Border Patrol officer that is in the hospital because a person that should have not been on our street was on our street.”
The DOJ’s lawsuit against Adams and New York City argues that the city’s policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement are unconstitutional. The Trump administration is seeking to overhaul city laws barring city resources and New York Police Department officers from being used for immigration enforcement and preventing city agencies and the police from honoring civil immigration detainers.
ERIC ADAMS EXPANDS COOPERATION WITH ICE, SIDELINES NYC SANCTUARY CITY PROTECTIONS
“The United States has well-established, preeminent, and preemptive authority to regulate immigration,” federal attorneys wrote in court filings. “New York City has long been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing this country’s immigration laws.”
Adams has targeted sanctuary policies by seeking to increase cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement this year, only to have efforts to assist ICE blocked in court.