Mother Jones illustration; Chepa Beltran/Sipa USA/AP, Richard Drew/AP
Donald Trump has promised to carry out the biggest mass deportations in history during his second term—which would not only be cruel to the millions directly affected, but also disastrous for the country as a whole. As my colleague Isabela Dias wrote earlier this year:
The nation’s undocumented immigrants grow and harvest the food we eat, construct our homes, and care for our young and elderly. They pay billions in taxes, start businesses that employ Americans, and help rebuild in the wake of climate disasters.
Not only would Trump’s plan rip families and communities apart, but it also would have devastating effects for years to come, including on US citizens who perhaps have overlooked how integral undocumented immigrants are to their everyday life. Trump frames immigration as an existential threat to the United States. He has said immigrants are “taking our jobs,” are “not people,” and are “poisoning the blood of our country.” The reality is that if his plan were implemented, American life as we know it would be ruined—even for those cheering for mass deportation.
The Trump administration’s ability to carry out those plans will be determined, in part, by how willing local officials are to cooperate with immigration enforcement. While states and cities can’t outright prevent the federal government from arresting and deporting people, they can slow them down by refusing to help. Many Democratic leaders across the country, often in regions that have already limited cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have responded to Trump’s win by strengthening their commitment to their undocumented constituents and further restricting local resources from flowing to ICE.
Within weeks of the election, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted for an ordinance prohibiting the use of resources to assist in federal immigration enforcement; Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city will not “bend or break” under pressure from the administration, and will continue restricting police collaboration with ICE; Denver Mayor Mike Johnston even said he was willing to go to jail to stop Trump’s mass deportations. “I’m willing to put him in jail,” Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, responded.
But one blue-city Democrat—among the highest-profile mayors in the world—has taken the opposite approach, cozying up to Trump on immigration and setting a worrying precedent for other sanctuary cities, which will face pressure from the incoming administration, including the threat of losing federal funds.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is currently battling bribery and fraud charges in a federal corruption investigation, has already taken a decidedly more adversarial approach to the Biden administration. Shortly after being indicted, Adams suggested, without evidence, that the administration was targeting him for his criticism of Biden’s immigration policies. He has since largely avoided criticizing Trump, fueling speculation that he is angling for a pardon in his corruption case—as has a recent press conference in which Adams seemed to suggest a “politicized” Justice Department had unfairly targeted him. Trump finally said on Monday that he is considering a pardon for the mayor, saying Adams “was treated pretty unfairly.”
When I asked Adams’ press office whether the mayor was seeking a pardon from Donald Trump, they didn’t directly answer the question, but referred me to an interview earlier this month where the mayor said, “I did nothing wrong. I have a great team of attorneys and any pathway to justice, we’re going to seek that.”
New York City’s response to Trump’s mass deportation plan will not only affect the city’s over 400,000 undocumented residents, but potentially millions more in the region—and beyond, as other cities and towns look to NYC, whose size and power make it a leading example of how cities can respond to the Trump administration. Unlike, for instance, California or Washington State, New York state law does not prevent local officials from cooperating with immigration enforcement—cooperation that could also free up resources for ICE to arrest and deport more people nationwide.
Adams has repeatedly called on the City Council—which in 2014 passed laws limiting police cooperation with immigration enforcement unless a person is convicted of a serious crime—to roll back those restrictions. In February, Adams told the press he opposed New York’s current sanctuary law; advocates said a rollback would strip people of due process protections, allowing deportation without a conviction, and the council rejected the effort. “The Mayor has now made it clear that he wants to gut our detainer laws…and exile people based on their place of birth,” said Rosa Cohen-Cruz of legal defense nonprofit The Bronx Defenders at the time. Adams’ press office pointed me to previous comments by the mayor on targeting those who commit crimes, but did not directly respond to questions on the fact that rolling back sanctuary laws would lead to deportations without convictions. Current laws already allow those convicted of serious crimes like homicide and rape to be turned over to immigration agents who get a judicial warrant.
Recently Adams says his team has been looking into whether he can tweak the city’s sanctuary laws through executive orders. In a CBS New York interview, Adams said the council “stated they’re not willing to change the sanctuary city law. I think they’re wrong. I have my teams looking at my power as executive orders.” Following a meeting with Adams last week, incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan told the New York Post that Adams wants to reopen the ICE office at Rikers Island jail—which was closed down by the City Council in 2014—possibly through an executive order.
Democratic councilmember Lincoln Restler of Brooklyn told the Post that legal challenges should be expected if Adams tries to go through with the plan—and that “it’s clear Mayor Adams is more interested in securing a pardon…than protecting immigrant New Yorkers and upholding our sanctuary city laws.”
At the same press conference earlier this month Adams used to suggest that his indictment was politically motivated, he was asked whether a migrant charged but not convicted of a crime was a criminal—given that he himself is facing charges.
“Americans have certain rights,” Adams responded. “The Constitution is for Americans. I’m not a person that snuck into this country.”
This is, of course, not true: the Constitution affords due process to everyone in the United States, regardless of immigration status. Adams walked those comments back after pushback, acknowledging to New York Public Radio that the Constitution is for everyone—“even for undocumented immigrants.”
It’s not clear whether a mayor charged with, but not yet convicted of, crimes will be able to roll back due process protections for undocumented immigrants in a similar position. But if Adams is successful—especially if he also obtains a pardon—it sets a dangerous precedent for other cities to follow as pressure from the Trump administration grows.