Adams and Hochul Must Adhere to Federal Law and Repeal Illegal Sanctuary Policies

Kudos to Mayor Adams for his commitment to collaborating with ICE to capture dangerous criminal migrants. However, it’s time for him to stop the mixed messages and fully embrace cooperation on civil warrants.

Furthermore, Gov. Kathy Hochul also needs to take a more realistic approach.

On Friday morning, Adams expressed a desire to ease sanctuary laws, allowing the NYPD to partner with ICE on civil enforcement matters. He later recanted after backlash from progressives, clarifying that he only meant this regarding dangerous criminals.

Despite the left’s protests, the conflicting federal, state, and city regulations create significant gray areas about when local authorities are required or allowed to cooperate with federal agencies. New Yorkers would benefit from granting ICE as much leeway as possible in apprehending the most dangerous and criminal illegal immigrants.

Reopening Rikers Island for federal use is a crucial first step in facilitating the prompt removal of migrants who are killers, rapists, gang members, and other criminals.

Meanwhile, Hochul should prioritize supporting border czar Tom Homan.

It is a federal offense to knowingly conceal, harbor, or shield from detection an individual who is unlawfully present in the United States — and New York’s Green Light law effectively does this by preventing the Department of Motor Vehicles from sharing driver information with federal authorities without a court order, subpoena, or warrant.

State legislation only ensured that illegal immigrants could apply for a New York driver’s license starting in December 2019; over 50,000 licenses were issued in the first month alone.

This indicates a level of sophistication often linked to organized crime; indeed, a license serves as a significant advantage to seasoned criminals — the very individuals that Homan’s agents are striving to locate, often at great personal risk.

Hochul should reflect on 2007, when then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer tried to grant driver’s licenses to “undocumented immigrants,” and Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul pledged to arrest any illegal migrant seeking a license in her office.

Spitzer’s initiative faltered; it wasn’t until years later that the left’s influence prompted the state to begin efforts to “normalize” illegal immigration — with centrists like Hochul scrambling to keep pace.

However, the excesses of recent years have shifted public opinion firmly against the acceptance of widespread illegal immigration.

Hochul, like Adams, must realize that no sanctuary law should protect violent offenders: Public safety must take precedence.