(USNewsBreak.com) – Millions of migrants have poured over the US-Mexico border since 2021. In March of that year, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) took matters into his own hands when he established the controversial Operation Lone Star. The following year, he began sending immigrants to sanctuary cities around the country. He targeted New York City as one of the liberal cities, where Democratic Mayor Eric Adams is now criticizing well-established policies and raising controversy.
New York’s sanctuary policies placing limits on the cooperation between state and federal officials provide safeguards to immigrants from federal efforts to detain and deport them. However, Adams, citing recent conditions, including the fact that some of these immigrants are committing criminal acts, appears to be calling for change. He made his opinion known at a news conference on Tuesday, February 27, when he said that the city can’t tolerate “the small number of migrants and asylum-seekers […] identified as dangerous hide under the law.”
Recently, the city has seen a slew of attacks, including the beating of an NYPD officer that resulted in multiple arrests, all of whom were migrants. Adams acknowledged that the majority of immigrants coming to New York City are law-abiding, but he said the city must hold to account the small faction of repeat offenders and those targeting police officers. However, he added that nothing could be done about this because communicating with federal immigration officials wasn’t allowed. Per CBS News, he also said that the fact that they couldn’t share information with ICE was a “problem” for him. This way of thinking represents a shift from the mayors before him, namely Bill de Blasio, who established the current policies.
Adams’ comments have drawn ire from some organizations, particularly the New York Immigration Coalition, where policy director Marlene Galaz said his remarks only serve to fan “the flames of hate and tensions” already present in the metropolis, according to NBC News.
Yet, some lawmakers, like Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), stand by him, encouraging him to take official action in the form of “executive action or give the City Council legislation to repeal” the existing policies, per POLITICO.
Copyright 2024, USNewsBreak.com
