Mayor of New York Eric Adams revealed Tuesday that he is open to meeting with incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan to develop solutions to tackle illegal immigrant criminals — and has dismissed criticism from the left, telling critics to “cancel me.”
Adams was asked at a news conference whether he would meet with Homan, who was picked by President-elect Trump to lead the mass deportation operation he plans to launch after he is sworn in.
Adams emphasized the city’s openness to immigrants and highlighted the work being done to help migrants apply for temporary protected status and work permits, as well as services including case management for migrants. He said migrant arrivals have now been declining for 21 weeks.
New York Mayor Eric Adams is open to meeting with incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan to develop solutions to tackle illegal immigrant criminals. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
“But we cannot ignore the fact, ignore that the American people have communicated with us loud and clear. We have a broken system. They want to fix our immigration system, and we need to fix our immigration system,” he said.
He said he contacted Homan and said he would like to speak with him: “I’m not going to war with this government, I’m going to work with this government. President Trump is the president-elect. And whoever he chooses to lead his agencies, I look forward to sitting down and seeing how we can make New York better,” he said.
Tom Homan, former acting director of US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, USA, on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
‘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 feel strongly that my history goes together with those on the other side of the aisle, with different ways of thinking, and 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 – securing our borders, holding out the people who commit violent acts in our country, and ensuring that … our citizens will be safe.”
In another part of the press conference, he said those in the country illegally and otherwise abiding by the law “should not be arrested in the middle of the night.”
But he said it was different for criminal illegal immigrants.
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“Those are the people I’m talking about. And I’d like to sit down with the border czar and hear his thoughts on how we’re going to address those who harm our citizens.”
As for his critics on the left on the issue, Adams pointed to previous comments by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama, who he said had called for the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants, and brushed off what he said: “cancel culture.”
“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.
Adams is sounding the alarm about the impact the border crisis has had on New York City, including the billions it has cost the city. He has repeatedly called for additional support from the federal government. He said Tuesday that the city has spent $6.4 billion on the project so far migrant crisis.
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President-elect Donald Trump, left, and his new “border czar” Tom Homan, right. (Getty)
Although New York City is a sanctuary city — meaning local police are not allowed to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests to extradite illegal immigrants after they are released from custody — Adams has increasingly retreated from that position .
He has called for changes that would allow major crime suspects to be turned over to ICE, something currently not allowed under the law. shrine policies.
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Homan, meanwhile, was also open to meeting Adams.
“I’m willing to meet with him, and I’m willing to meet with anyone to make their communities safer.” Homan said Monday 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.”
Fox News’ Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
