New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants migrants “suspected” of major crimes turned over to federal immigration officials — a proposal that would curtail New York’s sanctuary city policy. His call for a rollback of the rules — his clearest criticism yet of laws protecting people from deportation — won immediate praise from Republicans who have railed against illegal immigration, Politico reports. “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 said. Asked about due process for anyone accused of a crime, the mayor added, “They didn’t give due process to the person that they shot or punched or killed.”
Sanctuary city policies adopted under former mayors Ed Koch and Michael Bloomberg in part allowed police to hold those arrested and charged longer so U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could lodge a detainer on them. Current rules, adopted under Adams’ immediate predecessor Bill de Blasio, effectively buffer people from federal scrutiny until they are convicted of major crimes. Adams,a former NYPD captain, has stressed that the majority of migrants and asylum seekers in the city are law-abiding, while condemning individuals who target police officers and repeat offenders. He raised concerns after a migrant attack on two police officers in a video that went viral last month. He hadn’t been specific until Tuesday, when his chief counsel Lisa Zornberg rattled off the differences between Koch- and de Blasio-era sanctuary city rules.