(Headline USA) New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday called the city’s sanctuary laws a mistake and said he’d support repealing them.
New York City Council members recently introduced a bill that would undo laws enacted by former Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio that largely prohibit New York City law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Adams said he would sign the bill if it passes the council.
“I think the previous administration made a big mistake,” Adams said, referring to de Blasio. “I think we need to correct that aspect of it.”
Adams went on to admit that the massive influx of illegal immigrants into New York City has led to heightened safety concerns.
“New Yorkers have a right to be safe in their city. The same way anyone breaks the law or does something violent to New Yorkers, I’m going to voice my concern about that,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Adams has been critical of leftist sanctuary policies, though thus far he has declined to use his own executive authority to try and roll them back.
“I want to go back to the standards of the previous mayors who, I believe, subscribe to my belief that people who are suspected of committing serious crimes in this city should be held accountable,” Adams said earlier this year when asked about the policies.
New York City has seen a string of recent high-profile immigrant crimes, including a January attack on New York Police Department officers in Times Square, the shooting of a tourist in a Times Square store, and the rape of a 13-year-old girl in a Queens park last month.
Kenneth Genalo, ICE director for the New York City field office, said his agency could have helped prevent these crimes if city law enforcement had been willing to work with them.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the way that we have to do our intelligence in ICE is the same way that you find out about cases. It’s through the media,” Genalo said. “We’re no longer contacted. We’re no longer called.”
