Dive Brief:
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The United States on Thursday sued New York City Mayor Eric Adams and several city officials over its “sanctuary city” resolution. The city’s policies “are designed to impede the Federal Government’s ability to enforce the federal immigration laws,” the Justice Department states in its complaint.
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The lawsuit invokes the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution mandating that federal law is the “supreme Law of the Land,” an argument the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected when the Trump administration challenged California’s sanctuary laws in 2019.
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The U.S. Justice Department has also sued Los Angeles; Denver; the city of Rochester, Illinois; and four cities in New Jersey over their sanctuary policies.
Dive Insight:
Tensions between New York and the Trump administration over the city’s sanctuary policies have been rising over the past week.
Trump administration officials blamed Adams and the city’s sanctuary policies for the shooting of an off-duty customs officer during an attempted robbery Saturday. “When I look at what Mayor Adams has done to New York City, it breaks my heart to see the families that have suffered because of his policies,” U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during a news conference following the shooting.
Border Czar Tom Homan said federal agents would “flood the zone” in New York. “Sanctuary cities are now our priority,” he said.
Adams has criticized the city’s sanctuary policies, and in April signed an executive order inviting ICE to operate an office on Rikers Island. The New York City Council sued Adams, claiming he had entered into a “corrupt bargain” with the Trump administration, which dropped federal bribery and corruption charges against him in February.
Adams said on X that he will review the DOJ lawsuit. “We support the essence of the local laws put in place by the City Council — but I have also been clear they go too far when it comes to dealing with those violent criminals on our streets and have urged the Council to reexamine them to ensure we can effectively work with the federal government to make our city safer. So far, the Council has refused.”
“When residents feel comfortable reporting crime and cooperating with local law enforcement, we are all safer, something both Republican and Democratic mayors of New York City have recognized,” the New York City Council said in a statement on X. “It is the Trump Administration indiscriminately targeting people at civil court hearings, detaining high schoolers, and separating families that make our city and nation less safe.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that New York “has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies.”
“If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will,” Bondi said.
