One day after Mayor Eric Adams expressed his willingness to collaborate with the incoming Trump administration on addressing the migrant crisis and signaled a readiness to meet with former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) head Tom Homan, Council Member Robert Holden called on the mayor to reopen the ICE office on Rikers Island.
Holden, who represents District 30 in Queens, which encompasses Maspeth, Middle Village, and parts of Glendale, Ridgewood, Elmhurst, and Rego Park, has been advocating for changes to the city’s sanctuary policies since July. In a letter, he previously urged the mayor to roll back laws that restrict local law enforcement agencies—including the NYPD, Department of Correction, and Department of Probation—from cooperating with ICE.
“Tough talk is good, but actions speak louder,” Holden said on Wednesday. “The Mayor had the chance to amend or repeal sanctuary city laws through his Charter Revision Commission but chose not to. Now, it’s time to right these wrongs. To truly show commitment to public safety, Mayor Adam should reopen the ICE office at Rikers Island and give the NYPD, DOC, and DOP the ability to communicate with ICE and honor detainers for criminal migrants.”
Council Member Joann Ariola, who represents District 32 in Queens, which covers Glendale, Forest Park, Ozone Park (North), Woodhaven, Ozone Park, Howard Beach-Lindenwood, Spring Creek Park, Broad Channel, Rockaway Beach, Rockaway Park, Belle Harbor, Neponsit, Roxbury, Jacob Riis Park, Fort Tilden, and Breezy Point, seconded the challenge to the Mayor to reopen the ICE office on Rikers Island.
“We’ve been a city besieged by migrant criminals for far too long, and it is well past time that something is done about it,” Ariola said. “ICE needs to get back into our corrections system and start deporting the bad actors who are preying on the people of the city. We cannot tolerate the lawlessness anymore.”
Last month, Holden sent another letter to the Mayor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, the leaders of the Senate and Assembly, and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, expressing his “grave concern” over the continued impact of New York’s sanctuary state and city policies. He urged the city and state leaders to reverse sanctuary policies, citing concerns that they could violate federal laws related to harboring, shielding, or concealing illegal aliens, especially those involved in criminal activities.
“Day after day, we hear about violent crimes perpetrated by individuals who should not be here,” Holden wrote. “Sanctuary policies, by obstructing local and state law enforcement from cooperating with federal authorities, create a dangerous safe haven for those who violate immigration laws. The policies are not only unlawful — they endanger the safety of New Yorkers.”
While the Mayor has not responded to Holden’s latest challenge, he did make an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday, where he said, “I think we went too far by not cooperating with ICE with someone who is a violent offender.” Adams confirmed he would meet with Homan to discuss the incoming administration’s plans for mass deportations on Dec. 12.
“I want to hear the actual plan. How are we going to actually operationalize this plan?” Adams said. “I have not been silent on my feelings for those who commit serious crimes in our city and those who are repeat offenders in our city, particularly violent crimes. We’re not talking about those who steal an apple. We’re talking about those who are shooting at police officers, raping individuals, and I would like to hear the border czar’s plan on addressing that.”
He added that he felt the de Blasio administration “went too far by not cooperating with ICE” with someone who is a violent offender. During his weekly press briefing at City Hall on Tuesday, Adams explained why he feels it is important to meet with Holman.
“Migrants, asylum seekers and others. They want to work. They want to participate in the American Dream. And we need to find a way for them to do that,” Adams said. “But we cannot ignore the fact that the American people have communicated to us loudly and clearly. We have a broken system they want to fix and we need to fix our immigration system. We need to secure our border and we need to make sure that whomever we parole into this country is going to have an opportunity to work in this country.”
