Immigration activists in New York City on Thursday criticized Mayor Eric Adam’s meeting with Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan, accusing him of “collaboration” with the new administration.
“It is despicable that Mayor Adams continues to shirk his responsibilities to uphold the existing policies and values of New York City as a place of refuge by working with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, in a speech. statement.
Adams is scheduled to meet with Homan on Thursday afternoon. Adams had said he wants to sit down with Homan and talk about working together to specifically deport violent criminals. Homan has repeatedly said that threats to public safety will be the priority for the expected mass deportation campaign.
TRUMP BORDER CZAR MEETING WITH NYC MAYOR ADAM DESPITE SANCTUARY STATUS
The incoming border czar Tom Homan spoke with Dr. Phil on the Trump administration’s plan to deport illegal immigrants. (The Dr. Phil Podcast YouTube Channel.)
‘I’m not going to war with this government, I’m going to work with this government’ said Adams last week. “President Trump is the president-elect. And whoever he chooses to lead his agencies. I look forward to sitting at the table and seeing how we can make New York better.”
‘I would like to speak to our border czar and find out what his plans are. Where we have common ground, we can work together. And I firmly believe that my history is shared with those on the other side of the aisle with different ways of thinking and thinking. sit down and share my ideas,” he said. “I believe I have some ideas that can address this issue, and we can accomplish what the American people have said to us: secure our borders, confront the people who commit acts of violence in our country, and ensure that… our citizens will be safe.”
But he also clarified that otherwise law-abiding immigrants “should not be arrested in the middle of the night.”
Adams also had a message for critics on the left, telling them to “cancel me.”
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FILE – New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks to reporters after a news conference in New York, Monday, September 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)
“Well, cancel me, because I’m going to protect the people of this city, and if you come into this country, into this city, and think you’re going to harm innocent New Yorkers and innocent migrants and asylum seekers, this is not the mayor who you want to be in a city you want to be under,” he said.
But that did not stop the criticism of the meeting from activist groups.
“New Yorkers know that under Homan, ICE will be used to divide us by viciously attacking us demonizing immigrants, while making every New Yorker even less safe, Awawdeh said. “Too many of us remember the gunfire and street fighting that occurred as a result of ICE’s actions in a Brooklyn residential neighborhood in 2020, which resulted in a New York immigrant being shot in the face.”
“Targeting immigrants for arrest and deportation is destructive and diverts resources from initiatives that actually promote safety and well-being. Mayor Adams has an obligation to every New York family to maintain our public safety by refusing to participate in ICE’s cruel, politicized immigration agenda.”
“Study after study shows that cities with large immigrant populations are safer than cities with fewer immigrants, and that places with sanctuary policies have lower crime rates. Adams is clearly prioritizing his own political self-interest over the needs and public safety of all New Yorkers. Awawdeh said.
Homan, meanwhile, said last week that he was open to meeting with Adams.
“I’m willing to meet with him, and I’m willing to meet with anyone to make their communities safer.” Homan said on “America’s Newsroom” after being contacted by the Adams administration.
“Prioritization right out of the gate is a threat to public safety; work with us on that. It makes your community safer. It keeps my officers safe. It keeps the community safe. Let’s work together and get this done.”
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Adams has taken a tougher approach to illegal immigration than many of his Democratic counterparts, including suggesting that sanctuary policies should be rolled back to allow the deportation of criminals. Other Democrats have pledged to oppose or resist not help in deportation operations.
