(The Center Square) — The Trump administration is taking New York City to federal court over its “sanctuary” policies that restrict cooperation with federal immigration crackdowns, accusing the city of shielding wanted criminals from deportation.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleges that the city’s sanctuary policies have “allowed dangerous criminals to roam the streets and commit heinous crimes within the community” and are an “intentional effort to obstruct federal law enforcement” that violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The suit names Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Council President Adrienne Adams, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and other top city officials.
“New York City has long been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing this country’s immigration laws,” the DOJ wrote in the 37-page complaint. “Its history as a sanctuary city dates back to 1989, and its efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement have only intensified since.”
The lawsuit specifically cited Saturday’s botched robbery and shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer by a “criminal alien” with a lengthy criminal record, whose apprehension the Trump administration claimed had been prevented by the city’s sanctuary provisions.
“These provisions intentionally obstruct the sharing of information envisioned and affirmatively protected by Congress, including sharing basic information such as release dates, court appearance dates, and custodial status,” the lawsuit states. “The challenged provisions also impair federal detention of removable aliens, including dangerous criminals, contrary to federal law.”
There was no immediate comment from the Adams administration, or the City Council, late Thursday in response to the DOJ’s lawsuit.
New York City has been a flashpoint in the national immigration debate with more than 230,000 migrants arriving in the city since early 2022 following a surge of immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border. The city has spent about $8 billion on housing, food and other costs for migrants, according to the Adams administration. ICE operations in the city have arrested nearly 29,000 undocumented immigrants, according to the agency’s website.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, visited New York City earlier this week following the border agents’ shooting, saying he plans to “flood the zone” for allowing “criminal aliens” to roam the streets despite efforts to deport them.
“New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement Thursday. “If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.”
Immigrant rights groups slammed the lawsuit as “frivolous” and criticized the Trump administration for targeting policies they said make New York City a safe place and build police trust within immigrant communities.
“Today’s lawsuit is frivolous at best, and an attack on New York’s ability to govern itself at worst,” Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement. “New York must reject Trump’s continued assaults to its Constitutional right to pass local laws that serve our communities best. Mayor Adams must fight back against this federal overreach and defend the well-being of all New Yorkers.”
