The New York Metropolis Council has sued Mayor Adams over an government order that will permit federal immigration authorities to function on Rikers Island, a supply of friction throughout town amid stepped-up immigration enforcement by the Trump administration.
The go well with, filed Tuesday, claims that Adams entered into an illegal quid professional quo settlement with the Trump administration, buying and selling entry to Rikers for federal immigration authorities in change for his case getting dropped. The go well with additionally names Adams first deputy mayor Randy Mastro.
“Today, in New York City, a corrupt bargain is taking place in plain view: New York City Mayor Eric Adams, acting through his first deputy mayor, is using his official powers to pay off the Trump Administration for dropping criminal charges against him,” the go well with reads, including that the “purchase price” of the mayor’s case getting dropping is the “safety and wellbeing” of immigrant New Yorkers.
The manager order, issued final week, mentioned the mayor would solely allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make use of the workplace to pursue prison enforcement investigations on Rikers concentrating on undocumented immigrants accused of significant crimes.
“While we will review the lawsuit, this one seems baseless and contrary to the public interest in protecting New Yorkers from violent criminals,” Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for the mayor, mentioned in a press release. “We remain committed to our administration’s efforts to reduce crime and keep New Yorkers safe — we hope the City Council will join us in doing so.”
The go well with, nonetheless, accuses the mayor and his administration of unlawfully promising feds that they might additionally be capable to use Rikers to facilitate deportations — a civil enforcement mechanism not permitted underneath town’s sanctuary legal guidelines.
The town’s Division of Corrections can also be named as a respondent.
“Allowing ICE back onto Rikers for the purpose of criminal investigation purposes is only a short and slippery slope to civil immigration enforcement,” the go well with reads.
Adams mentioned final week that he delegated the order to Mastro this month “so no one can say that there’s some bias in the determination,” however the lawsuit says that’s irrelevant. The mayor had beforehand pledged to hold out the chief order on a February Fox and Pals look alongside Trump Border Czar Tom Homan, who mentioned then he’d be “up his butt” if Adams didn’t comply with by way of.
“The Mayor’s decision to have Mastro issue the executive order … does not magically cleanse the taint of conflict from the order,” the Council claims.
Mamelak mentioned that Mastro’s course of was separate from the mayor and that he “independently concluded that a federal presence at Rikers to conduct federal criminal investigations is in New York City’s best interest.”
The council is asking the court docket to dam town from permitting ICE authorities on the jail advanced and cancel the order, arguing that Mastro was by no means formally given the ability to situation government orders as required by the Metropolis Constitution.
“This is a naked attempt by Eric Adams to fulfill his end of the bargain for special treatment he received from the Trump administration,” Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who’s operating for mayor, mentioned in a press release. “New York cannot afford its mayor colluding with the Trump administration to violate the law, and this lawsuit looks to the court to uphold the basic standard of democracy, even if our mayor won’t.”
The go well with additionally notes that the chief order additionally opens the door to a number of different federal companies, together with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Homeland Safety Investigations, which have additionally been tasked by Trump to hold out deportation efforts.
The Metropolis Council final week empowered itself to sue Adams over the chief order, arguing the transfer was “the poisonous fruit” of the alleged take care of Trump’s administration.
The mayor was indicted in September on prices he carried out favors for brokers of the Turkish authorities in change for unlawful marketing campaign contributions and different perks. He pleaded not responsible. The Justice Division moved to get his prices dropped in February, claiming the case prevented Adams from finishing up Trump’s immigration agenda, and the case was dropped earlier this month.
Initially Revealed: April 15, 2025 at 12:46 PM EDT
