DOJ Targets New York City’s Immigration Sanctuary Laws In New Federal Lawsuit

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing New York City over its sanctuary laws that offer protection to some undocumented immigrants.

In a suit filed on Thursday, the DOJ said that the policies reflected an intentional effort to obstruct federal law enforcement.

The department wants those policies to be declared unlawful and found to be in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.

“New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.”

New York Mayor Eric Adams and several other city officials, including City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, have been named in the suit.

New York’s local city laws and regulations prevent the NYPD from proactively cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

This includes limits on inquiries into immigration status, information sharing, and holding individuals at ICE's request without a judicial warrant.

Individuals in the detention of the NYC Department of Corrections cannot be kept longer than they otherwise would have been if ICE issues a civil immigration detainer.

In a statement on X, Mayor Adams said he would review the lawsuit.

"The job of a mayor is to protect the safety of every single person in their city — and that’s exactly what our administration has worked to do every day for nearly four years.

"Keeping New Yorkers safe also means making sure they feel safe, and we have been clear: no one should be afraid to dial 911, send their kids to school, or go to the hospital, and no New Yorker should feel forced to hide in the shadows.

"That’s why we support the essence of the local laws put in place by the City Council — but I have also been clear they go too far when it comes to dealing with those violent criminals on our streets and have urged the Council to reexamine them to ensure we can effectively work with the federal government to make our city safer."

“So far, the Council has refused.”

The city council accused Bondi of trying to deflect from reality in a statement.

“Pam Bondi may want to distract from reality, but the facts are clear: the evidence consistently shows that cities with sanctuary laws are safer than those without them,” a statement on X read.
“When residents feel comfortable reporting crime and cooperating with local law enforcement, we are all safer, something both Republican and Democratic mayors of New York City have recognized.

“It is the Trump Administration indiscriminately targeting people at civil court hearings, detaining high schoolers, and separating families that make our city and nation less safe.”

Specifically referenced in the lawsuit was an incident on July 20, during which an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer was shot in the face and leg.

Two suspects detained in connection with the incident are undocumented migrants, and one of them had outstanding arrest warrants and a criminal history.

The incident is believed to be a robbery attempt and not connected to the victim's job, but Trump administration officials blamed it on New York’s sanctuary policies.

“How many more lives will it take, how many more people have to be hurt and victimized before we have public safety be a number one priority in some of our largest cities?” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

The lawsuit is part of a broader Trump administration initiative to target sanctuary cities that offer protection to undocumented immigrants.

In the past three months, the DOJ has targeted Democrat leaning cities with similar lawsuits, including L.A., New York State, Colorado, Illinois, the city of Rochester, and several New Jersey cities.