NYC is in Trump's immigration enforcement sights

Politico

19 hours ago

Presented by Resorts World New York City
With help from Amira McKee
Mayor Eric Adams has been setting himself apart from other 'sanctuary' city leaders with a more diplomatic approach to President Donald Trump's deportation agenda.
'I'm not warring with the president. I'm working with the president,' Adams said earlier this month, drawing a contrast between himself and the mayors of Los Angeles, Chicago and other blue cities fiercely resisting the mass roundups of migrants.
But it seems Adams has only delayed Trump's wrath, rather than spare the city from it completely.
The Trump administration sued the Adams administration Thursday over its sanctuary policies, POLITICO reported, charging in its complaint that 'New York City has long been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing this country's immigration laws.'
At 26 Federal Plaza, just blocks from Adams' City Hall office, Trump's Department of Homeland Security has been detaining migrants — including those with no history of violence — in conditions that surreptitious videos show are crowded and unsafe.
So what could be next for New York as the president begins to intensify his crackdown thanks to $170 billion in the 'one big, beautiful bill' for border and immigration enforcement?
Look to Chicago, as one example.
The Midwestern metropolis was slapped with a Trump lawsuit in February over its policies limiting cooperation between federal immigration officers and local law enforcement. A recent Chicago Tribune analysis revealed a 'sharp overall increase in the number of people booked' in detention facilities in the area.
Adams, once an NYPD captain, is so far still trying to play good cop with Trump — and has cast the City Council in the role of bad cop.
'No New Yorker should feel forced to hide in the shadows,' his spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said in a statement responding to Thursday's lawsuit. 'That's why the mayor supports the essence of the local laws put in place by the City Council — but he has also been clear they go too far when it comes to dealing with those violent criminals on our streets.'
The council isn't budging. 'Cities with sanctuary laws are safer than those without them,' council spokesperson Rendy Desamours said. 'It is the Trump Administration indiscriminately targeting people at civil court hearings, detaining high schoolers, and separating families that make our city and nation less safe.'
But Adams has pushed back in some ways too, asking the Trump administration to inspect conditions on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza and speaking out in immigration lawsuits.
Trump is targeting his hometown after an off-duty customs agent was shot in the face, allegedly by an undocumented immigrant in Manhattan over the weekend. That man was federally charged Thursday with possession of ammunition by an illegal alien while his alleged accomplice now faces an accessory charge.
The president also touted a nationwide surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests this week, then tailored a press release to New York City about a 400 percent spike in ICE detainers and gave Fox News the exclusive to slam Adams for 'protecting criminal illegal aliens.'
On Thursday, immigrant and civil rights advocates denounced the Trump lawsuit against the city as frivolous. Some urged Adams to step up, way up.
'New York must reject Trump's continued assaults to its Constitutional right to pass local laws that serve our communities best,' New York Immigration Coalition president Murad Awawdeh said in a statement. 'Mayor Adams must fight back against this federal overreach and defend the well-being of all New Yorkers.' — Emily Ngo and Jeff Coltin
HAPPY FRIDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
WHERE'S KATHY? In Buffalo, making a waterfront announcement and highlighting 'Get Offline, Get Outside' initiatives.
WHERE'S ERIC? Schedule not available as of 10 p.m. Thursday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'I endorsed him back in February, and I have not spoken to him since February … If you had told me that the first mayoral candidate to call me would be Zohran Mamdani rather than Andrew Cuomo, I would have had trouble believing it.' — Rep. Ritchie Torres on his relationship with Cuomo on CNN (h/t Jacob Kornbluh on X).
ABOVE THE FOLD
SANTOS LOGS OFF: Convicted fraudster George Santos will report to federal prison today with no signs of clemency from President Donald Trump, POLITICO reports.
The former House member remains loyal to his president anyway.
'I will not waver in my support for him,' Santos told POLITICO in a phone call this week.
But does he hold out hope for an 11th-hour pardon or commutation from Trump?
'I don't think he can,' Santos said. 'He's in a position where he needs to put the country ahead of one man, and that's just a fact. He would lose support in the House from Republicans who have already capitulated.'
The saga of Santos reaches a new — and perhaps final — public chapter this week as the serial liar begins his 87-month sentence at an undisclosed facility for a bevy of fraud, embezzlement and identity theft crimes. He's going out with a whimper. New York GOP leaders who once boosted him as the party's future — then treated him like its biggest albatross — aren't even bothering to bid him good riddance.
Santos won election to a Queens and Long Island seat in 2022 despite a falsified résumé (selling himself as a Wall Street superstar) and served nearly all of 2023 in the House fighting allegations of campaign fraud (including spending on designer duds, lavish lodging and Botox).
A White House spokesperson would not comment this week on whether there's a pending clemency request concerning Santos.
Santos' fabulist-but-make-it-fabulous vibe has dissipated as his prison time nears. He said he's fearful of being targeted for violence as a gay man — and a former politician at that. And while he has managed to reinvent himself in small ways since he was ousted from Congress, including as host of the 'Pants on Fire' podcast, Santos said he sees 'no light' at the end of his incarceration tunnel.
'I'm not allowed technology at all, and I've been notified that I will not be allowed to do interviews either,' Santos said. 'They're shutting me up essentially.'
There's not much left to say anyway, the one-time member of Congress said.
'I guess I put it all out there,' Santos said. 'To keep it simple, I should have done better, not for me, but for everyone else as well. Sorry to everyone.' — Emily Ngo
CITY HALL: THE LATEST
WHAT'S COOLER THAN A FREEZE?: Longshot independent mayoral candidate Jim Walden is one-upping Mamdani's plan to freeze the rent for rent stabilized units and has a proposal to lower the rent for more than 250,000 New York City tenants.
Walden's plan would cap rent at 35 percent of income for low-income and severely rent burdened tenants and would directly subsidize landlords to make up the difference — effectively a city-funded version of federal Section 8 vouchers.
He'd fund it by finding $348 million of savings in the budget, shaving less than 1 percent off the capital program by taxing the rich — enacting a 0.1 percent tax on 'high end goods and services' including stock transfers, luxury real estate and 'high-end jewelry.'
'Freeze the rent' is 'the other guy's slogan,' Walden said in a video posted Wednesday. 'We're about solutions, not slogans.'
'I don't see it as pandering,' Walden told Playbook. 'I see it as problem-solving.' — Jeff Coltin
ADAMS REACHING NEW HEIGHTS: Former City Council Member Robert Cornegy is hosting a fundraiser for Adams next week, while the 6-foot-10 ex-pol's casino bid is seeking an OK from a mayoral appointee.
Cornegy told Playbook the Wednesday night Fort Greene fundraiser had nothing to do with his lobbying work for The Coney casino. 'I told Eric's people, this has nothing to do with one thing or the other, and here you are, bringing it up off the bat,' he said with a laugh.
'He's been my guy for a long time,' Cornegy added. 'He's done a tremendous job as mayor.'
Cornegy isn't the only casino connection getting in front of the mayor. Marc Holliday, who's pushing a Times Square casino with his real estate firm SL Green, hosted a massive fundraiser for the mayor earlier this month. — Jeff Coltin
WHAT ZOHRAN IS READING: No single issue will be more challenging for a Mayor Mamdani than policing. But there are concrete steps he can take to reform the NYPD and curb its culture of impunity, 'The End of Policing' author Alex S. Vitale writes in The Nation.
More from the city:
— New York City schools adopted a new cellphone ban policy, but the chancellor vowed to make adjustments if there are issues. (POLITICO Pro)
— Adams is staking his reelection bid on falling crime numbers, arguing to voters that he has made New York safer and can continue to do so. (New York mag)
— A vote on the proposed makeover of a mile-long stretch of industrial Brooklyn coastline has been postponed for the fifth time this year. (THE CITY)
NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY
GUNS AND ROSES: Rep. Elise Stefanik is taking aim at New York's gun laws.
The Republican, who's mulling a run for governor, called Thursday for a federal bill designed to override gun regulations in blue states like New York and California. The bill would block states from requiring loaded chamber indicators, magazine disconnect mechanisms and microstamping for handgun sales.
The measure, which is also backed by Rep. Darrell Issa, is being trumpeted by Stefanik a day after moderate Rep. Mike Lawler announced he would not run for governor — a move that opened a clear path for the North Country Republican to win the GOP nomination.
'I am proud to re-introduce the Modern Firearm Safety Act to end the unconstitutional gun-grabbing agenda thrust on law-abiding New York residents by Far Left Democrats like Kathy Hochul,' Stefanik said.
It's an interesting move for Stefanik, considering the broad support for gun control in a deep blue state like New York. Polls over the years have shown support for the state's SAFE Act, a sweeping package of gun regulations approved during Andrew Cuomo's governorship. A majority of New Yorkers have supported requiring permits for semiautomatic weapons. And Hochul has embraced efforts to address the flow of illegal guns into New York and touted a statewide decline in shootings.
Yet gun rights is an issue that resonates deeply with the Republican base — especially in Stefanik's deep red House seat.
'Thanks to Governor Hochul, gun violence in New York is down to the lowest level in 20 years and more than 10,000 illegal guns are off our streets — but Elise Stefanik wants to undo it all to score political points with Donald Trump,' Hochul campaign spokesperson Addison Dick said. 'Stefanik would rather push Trump's extreme agenda than protect her own constituents, and New Yorkers will hold her accountable.' — Nick Reisman
More from Albany:
— Fiscal watchdogs warn state lawmakers and Hochul are punting on a special session to address federal cuts. (NYS Focus)
— The governor is being urged to sign a measure bolstering protections for gender-affirming care. (Gothamist)
— Hochul approved a law requiring schools to have cardiac emergency response plans. (Spectrum News)
KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION
FINAL VOTE TO COME: Emil Bove, known in New York for moving to dismiss bribery charges against Eric Adams, narrowly cleared another procedural hurdle Thursday toward a lifetime seat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Senate voted 50-48 to proceed with consideration of Bove's nomination, with Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins siding with all Democrats in opposition. — Hailey Fuchs
More from Congress:
— 'The bill is going to come due:' House GOP braces for Epstein crisis to intensify. (POLITICO)
— Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the Trump administration to brief senators behind closed doors on the Epstein files. (Washington Post)
— The many times Rep. Mike Lawler talked about being governor of New York. (City & State)
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
— New York set to make phone calls free in state prisons. (NY1)
— A proposal to revamp Brooklyn Marine Terminal was once again pushed back. (POLITICO Pro)
— Former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano will be resentenced in early October. (Newsday)
SOCIAL DATA
IN MEMORIAM: Michael Cardozo, former New York City corporation counsel under Mayor Mike Bloomberg and a member of the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, has died. Bloomberg shared a remembrance on Instagram. (New York Law Journal)
MAKING MOVES: Former supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jacqueline Kelly has joined Boies Schiller Flexner as a partner in its New York City office and is focusing on corporate and white collar defense and crime victims … Allyson Jones-Brimmer has been appointed executive director of the Northeast Dairy Producers Association. She has served as the group's vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs since November 2023 … Carlos Castell Croke has been promoted to be deputy director of government affairs at the NYC Department of Transportation.
MEDIAWATCH: Adam Bernstein is joining the New York Times as deputy obituaries editor. He most recently was obituaries editor at the Washington Post. The announcement … Tanya Simon has been named executive producer of CBS' '60 Minutes,' the first woman and fourth person overall to assume that role across 57 years. She most recently was interim executive producer and has been with the broadcast for 25 years.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn of WIN … former NYC Council Members Domenic Recchia and Alan Maisel … Marathon's Liz Benjamin … Kevin Elkins of the Carpenters … George Lence of Nicholas & Lence … DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton … Laura Imperiale of the Brooklyn BP's office … Doug Turetsky … Brad Karp … Alan Chartock … Tatiana Tylosky … Alex Nguyen of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office …
… Alex Pfeiffer … Austin Marcus … Fox News' Katy Ricalde … Bloomberg's Mike Nizza … Robert Zoellick … WSJ's James Fanelli and Elise Dean … Jesselyn Cook … CNBC's Karen James Sloan … Consumer Bankers Association's Billy Rielly … (WAS THURSDAY): Lowell Bergman ... Sharon Yeshaya ... Michael Sugerman ... Arie Schochat
Missed Thursday's New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.