Mayor Eric Adams emerged from his 90-minute meeting with U.S. “Border Czar” Tom Homan pledging to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate on Rikers Island, as it had until a decade ago when a “sanctuary city” law forbade cooperation. 

In a statement Adams’ office sent out hours after their meeting, Adams said the two had discussed how the two could work to remove “violent migrant gangs” from the five boroughs. 

On Rikers Island, “ICE agents would specifically be focused on assisting the correctional intelligence bureau in their criminal investigations, in particular those focused on violent criminals and gangs,” Adams said. “We also discussed ways to embed more NYPD detectives into federal task forces, focusing on these violent gangs and criminal activity.”

The proposed roll back of the city’s sanctuary laws, which bar most coordination Immigration and Customs Enforcement, comes three days after the Trump Justice Department moved to drop corruption charges against Adams, citing the need for his help on immigration enforcement. 

A 2014 law ed under former Mayor Bill de Blasio ejected Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating on Rikers Island, where it had intercepted people as they were being released. Immigration advocates said the arrangement pushed an unnecessary number of people into deportation.

Adams said in his statement he would make the change via executive order.

Speaking with THE CITY, de Blasio questioned whether Adams has the legal authority to override the law, which ed the City Council along with a second bill that restricted NYPD cooperation with ICE.

“I’m not a lawyer, but I think that executive orders are not meant to circumvent laws,” de Blasio said. He reiterated a defense of the 2014 sanctuary laws. 

“We have a law that allows for due process, which is a fundamental American value, but also ensures that if anyone’s committed a serious or violent crime, that they get deported.”

The news sent shockwaves across the City Council , most of whom have been staunch defenders of the city’s sanctuary laws, even as they faced months of criticism by Adams. 

“We worked really hard as a council to get ICE out of Rikers Island,” said Councilmember Diana Ayala (D-Manhattan/The Bronx), who referred to a constituent of hers who was wrongfully arrested, handed over to ICE after his arrest and spent eight months in immigration detention. 

“Things like that happen. And we can’t do that,” she said. “There needs to be some sort of separation of power and we’ll be looking at it to see if there’s anything that we can do on our end to ensure that that doesn’t happen.”

Shortly before the mayor’s Thursday afternoon statement, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who has been a staunch defender of the city’s sanctuary policies, said she has “serious concerns” about whether the mayor will continue to comply with them, but doubted he had the legal authority to override them. 

“The mayor does not have the legal authority to suspend the law by executive order,” she said. “He can issue orders, including emergency orders, but whether it’s legal is a wholly different question and that’s something that would, again, be another bridge to cross if we get to that.”

Conservative Council Push

Several of the Council’s “Common Sense Caucus” met with Homan before Adams did and emerged to say they had strategized around how Adams could use executive orders to waive city sanctuary laws that prohibit most local cooperation with federal enforcement. 

Bob Holden (D-Queens), who co-chairs the caucus, said to reporters outside 26 Federal Plaza: “The state gives the mayor the authority under executive orders to suspend certain laws in New York City, New York State also that are endangering the public. Public safety is paramount.”

Holden also suggested that Homan is prepared to act with or without Adams’ assistance. “If the mayor is not going to do what he can do, what he has the power to do, then that’s where Tom Homan comes in,” he said.

Holden added that Homan expressed frustration at Adams, saying the mayor had failed to follow through on commitments made at a December meeting with Homan at Gracie Mansion. 

Both Homan and Adams left the building in SUVs after the meeting, declining to speak with reporters on their way out. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

New York’s sanctuary laws bar the NYPD and Department of Correction from holding people at the behest of ICE without a judicial warrant, with the exception of people who have already been convicted of certain violent crimes. The laws also prevent city resources from being expended on immigration enforcement. 

Advocates for immigrants in New York City said they need stronger assurances from Adams at a critical moment. ICE arrested some 100 people in New York City in the first wave of its raids, though federal agents have refused to provide specifics about the ongoing crackdown, even as reports of ICE agents continue to crop up across the city, following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. 

“While speculation continues about the content of the Mayor’s meeting with Tom Homan today, one thing is clear: the Adams istration needs to do more to comply with our sanctuary local laws and policies,” said Murad Awawdeh, the President of the New York Immigration Coalition. “Now is the time that he should be standing with the City Council in condemning these unwarranted attacks on New York City’s values and our families.”

The Trump istration has started to put the squeeze on states and localities with sanctuary protections that limit cooperation with ICE. On Wednesday, the istration sued New York State for its Greenlight Law, which shields DMV records from federal authorities without a warrant and allows undocumented people to obtain drivers licenses. Earlier this week the Federal Emergency Management Agency clawed back $80 million from New York City coffers that had gone to reimburse the city for expenses around providing for migrants.

Speaking at an unrelated press conference Thursday morning, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, pointed to the particular conundrum Adams finds himself in. 

“It is the intention of the Trump istration to keep the mayor on a short leash,” Jeffries said. “How the mayor responds to the White House’s intentions is gonna determine a lot about the political future of the current mayor of the City of New York.”