Justice Department targets NYC sanctuary policies in new federal lawsuit

The Justice Department is suing New York City over its sanctuary policies, as the Trump administration targets jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities as it continues to ramp up deportation raids. 

The lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court, names New York City Mayor Eric Adams and several other city officials as defendants. 

“The job of a mayor is to protect the safety of every single person in their city — and that’s exactly what Mayor Adams has worked to do every day for nearly four years,” Adams’ press secretary, Kay;a Mamelak Altus, told Fox News Digital. “Keeping New Yorkers safe also means making sure they feel safe, and Mayor Adams has been clear: no one should be afraid to dial 911, send their kids to school, or go to the hospital, and no New Yorker should feel forced to hide in the shadows.”

“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 and has urged the Council to reexamine them to ensure we can effectively work with the federal government to make our city safer,” Altus added. “So far, the Council has refused. We will review the lawsuit.”

The lawsuit claims the city has enacted policies with the intent of impeding the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws. 

LOUISVILLE MAYOR SHIFTS CITY’S IMMIGRATION POLICY AFTER LEGAL THREAT FROM DOJ

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and migrants entering a shelter. The Justice Department is suing the city over its sanctuary city policies.  (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images, left, Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images, right.)

“New York City has long been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing this country’s immigration laws,” the lawsuit states. “Its history as a sanctuary city dates back to 1989, and its efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement have only intensified since.”

The Justice Department cited New York’s policy that prohibits its Department of Corrections from honoring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers, which requests that federal immigration authorities be notified upon the release of a criminal illegal immigrant from jail. 

The New York Police Department was subject to a similar provision, the lawsuit states. In 2014, the city further resisted cooperation with ICE, including adding an amendment to its sanctuary city policy that immigration detainers would not be honored without a warrant issued by an Article III judge (or magistrate judge) and unless the subject of the detainer had been convicted of a “violent or serious” crime within the past five years or was a possible match on the federal terrorist watch list.

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“Sanctuary cities are only sanctuaries for criminals. President Trump promised to Make America Safe Again and deport criminal illegal aliens,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “But sanctuary cities, like NYC, are working in direct opposition to the mandate that President Trump was elected to fulfill and American citizens are paying the price. The Trump Administration will not tolerate local politicians interfering in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

The lawsuit said crimes committed by illegal immigrants in the city have prompted several city leaders to call for cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the federal government was left with no choice but to protect New Yorkers. 

“If New York’s leaders won’t step up to protect their citizens, we will,” she wrote on X. 

U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliatakis, R-N.Y., applauded the move, calling sanctuary polices “misguided,” “costly and dangerous.”

“Restoring public safety in our communities starts with New York City cooperating with ICE’s detainer requests. Failing to do so keeps dangerous criminals on our streets,” she wrote on X.

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The lawmaker said she filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that showed more 16,000 crimes were committed by thousands of people who were living in hotels and shelters at taxpayer expense. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Adams and the White House. 

In June, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles over its sanctuary policies. The city has become embroiled in a feud with the Trump administration over its deportation raids and anti-ICE protests.