The US Department of Justice accuses the city and its mayor of thwarting efforts to clamp down on illegal migrants
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against New York City and several of its officials, including Mayor Eric Adams, to challenge local sanctuary policies, which restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The policies of the city amount to an “intentional effort to obstruct federal law enforcement,” the DOJ said in a statement on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump in recent months has mounted a broader assault on Democratic-controlled cities that practice such policies, combining legal action and massive anti-immigrant law enforcement raids.
“New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated.
If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.
The city has long been at “the vanguard of interfering with enforcing our immigration laws,” US Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate claimed. The DOJ argues that the sanctuary policies are preempted by federal legislation under the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution.
Responding to the lawsuit, Adams said that while he stands for “the essence of the local laws,” he believes “they go too far when it comes to dealing with those violent criminals on our streets.” The mayor called upon the city council to reexamine the policies to “effectively work with the federal government.”
The lawsuit is the latest action taken by the Trump administration against the sanctuary policies maintained in many Democratic strongholds across the US. Over the past three months, the DOJ filed similar suits against Los Angeles, the state of New York, Colorado, Illinois, and several cities across New Jersey.
Earlier this week the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, announced the city will drop its sanctuary policies and begin complying with the Trump administration. Resisting the federal government could potentially lead to massive California-style raids by immigration agents, he argued.
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