Too little too late.
A pissed off metropolis lawmaker on Wednesday referred to as to reopen a long-shuttered federal immigration outpost at Rikers Island, whereas slamming the mayor for his flip on the town’s “sanctuary metropolis” standing.
“Robust speak is nice, however actions converse louder,” Queens Councilman Robert Holden mentioned in a press release. “The mayor had the possibility to amend or repeal sanctuary metropolis legal guidelines by way of his Constitution Revision Fee however selected to not. Now, it’s time to proper these wrongs.
“To really present dedication to public security, Mayor Adams ought to reopen the ICE workplace at Rikers Island and provides the NYPD, [Department of Corrections], [Department of Probation] the flexibility to speak with ICE and honor detainers for legal migrants,” Holden mentioned.
Holden’s name comes after Adams waffled on his long-standing assist for the town’s sanctuary metropolis standing, which features a vow to not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Beleaguered by the migrant disaster overwhelming the 5 boroughs, Adams this week mentioned he’s recreation if the feds wish to deport immigrants who commit crimes within the metropolis — and vowed to take a seat down with President-elect Donald Trump’s unbending border czar, Tom Homan.
“My place is individuals who commit crimes in our metropolis, you’ve gotten abdicated your proper to be in our metropolis and I’m open to determine one of the best ways to deal with that,” he mentioned Tuesday. “Those that are right here committing crimes, robberies taking pictures at law enforcement officials, raping harmless folks, have been a hurt to our nation.”
Adams did recommend loosening the sanctuary metropolis restrictions for asylum in search of criminals in February, however had beforehand touted the migrant-friendly designation.
Holden mentioned he and different council members’ requires a reversal of the coverage have nonetheless fallen on deaf ears, together with in a July 19 letter to Metropolis Corridor by which Holden complained that “supporting sanctuary metropolis legal guidelines means defending criminals and terrorists.
“The protection and safety of our metropolis and its residents rely upon decisive and fast motion,” he wrote. “We owe it to the victims of 9/11 and to our family members right now to deal with these vulnerabilities head-on.”
In September, the council’s nine-member “Widespread Sense Caucus” penned a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul expressing concern over “the continued migrant disaster.”
And final month, Holden wrote to Hochul, state legislative leaders and Adams to once more specific concern over a sanctuary metropolis designation that “put New Yorkers in hurt’s manner.
“Let’s work collectively to root out legal unlawful aliens, not impede federal legislation enforcement,” he mentioned. “As elected officers, defending our communities and upholding the rule of legislation should be our highest precedence.”
On Wednesday, Holden mentioned a vital place to begin is to reestablish a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement workplace at Rikers Island, which was shut down by former Mayor Invoice de Blasio in 2015.
The outpost gave federal immigration officers a foothold to grab and deport convicted migrants.
The town has doled out greater than $6 billion to accommodate, feed and police the flood of migrants who’ve flooded into the 5 boroughs since 2022, with the violent Venezuelan avenue gang Tren de Aragua establishing a foothold out of the tax-funded shelters.
The mayor’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Publish.
Further reporting by Carl Campanile
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