The Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against New York City, accusing the city and its political leaders of undermining immigration enforcement efforts with their manipulative use of “sanctuary policies.”
The legal complaint from President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and team targets Mayor Eric Adams and other top officials across NYC, alleging the city’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration officers led to the release of dangerous illegal aliens who went on to commit violent crimes.
According to the DOJ’s complaint, New York’s sanctuary city policies violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which gives federal law precedence over any conflicting state and local laws. The lawsuit further claims these policies intentionally blocked federal immigration enforcement efforts across NYC.
“For too long, New York City has been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing our immigration laws. Its efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement end now,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said in a follow-up statement.
The lawsuit goes on to argue that thousands of immigrants with criminal records were purposefully released instead of being handed over to immigration authorities for further screening.
Under the Trump administration, immigration enforcement has once again become a top federal priority, with renewed pressure on cities and states that limit cooperation with ICE and DHS. For example, in January, Trump revealed plans to sign an executive order instructing the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to prepare Guantanamo Bay for detaining up to 30,000 illegal aliens.
“Some of them are so bad, we don’t even trust their countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back,” Trump said. “We’re going to send them to Guantanamo. It’s a tough place to get out of.”
Now, the Justice Department’s new lawsuit against NYC shows another push, a push for compliance from arguably the country’s most high-profile sanctuary city.
As of press time, New York City officials have not yet responded publicly to the lawsuit.
“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 Pamela Bondi. “If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.”