On Thursday, Dec. 12, Mayor Eric Adams met with Donald Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, in a decision that has caused mixed reactions in New York City.
Homan will oversee the southern and northern borders and be responsible for deportation efforts in the Trump administration. Adams expressed his enthusiasm for Trump’s strict deportation policies and eagerness to pursue criminal migrants in the City.
Council Member Robert Holden, who represents Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village, and Glendale across District 30 in Queens, has applauded Adams for the meeting and urged for more of the same.
“I commend the Mayor for his strong stance in declaring that New York City will not be a safe haven for criminal migrants and for directing his legal team to explore ways to ensure public safety,” stated Holden.
“This is a critical step in the right direction, and as Mayor, he must fully leverage his legal authority to protect New Yorkers. With the announcement of another Charter Revision Commission, I urge the Mayor to seize this opportunity to address this issue head-on and put it before the voters.”
After the meeting, Adams told reporters that he and Homan agreed to pursue people who commit violent crimes in the City but did not disclose additional details or future plans.
Both parties agreed that the meeting went well, with Homan expressing gratitude to the Mayor in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw, which aired on his platform, Merit TV.
“I’m grateful that the biggest city in this country, the biggest sanctuary city in this country, is willing to come to the table and help me with my two biggest priorities: criminals and children,” Homan remarked.
However, Holden’s response to the meeting is not entirely the general consensus in Queens, with State Senator Jessica Ramos heavily criticizing Adams. Ramos, representing the District 13 neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights, warned that the Mayor’s actions as an “accomplice” to mass deportations could fundamentally alter NYC.
“They do not have faith that our Mayor will stand up for us or work to keep families together,” Ramos stated. “He has made it abundantly clear where he stands, saying migrants will destroy the city, spreading dangerous misinformation about immigrant’s constitutional rights, and cozying up to the incoming administration in the hopes that his corruption will be pardoned.”
Adams has been charged with one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery, one count of wire fraud, two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe. He is due to stand trial in April next year and faces up to 20 years in prison.
“We’re going to tell those who are here, who are law-abiding, to continue to utilize the services that are open to the city, the services that they have a right to utilize, educating their children, health care, public protection, and the things that we have long been prideful in doing so,” Adams said after the meeting. “But we will not be a safe haven for those who commit violent acts. We don’t do it for those who are citizens, and we’re not going to do it for those who are undocumented.”
“We’ve made terrible mistakes in the past by preventing– to keep our city safe from those who have committed repeated acts of violence, particularly these dangerous gangs that we have witnessed in our city, and we’re not going to continue in that direction.”