Mayor Eric Adams vows to work with the Trump administration to get migrants who commit crimes out of New York City
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams says he plans to meet with President-elect Donald Trump's border czar and map out plans to deport migrants who commit crimes.
And he had a message for those who might be shocked that the Democratic mayor of New York City is willing to cooperate with a Republican president to deport bad guy migrants. He said to do a Google search for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, because Adams insists both Democratic Party icons supported deporting migrants who commit crimes.
"I made it clear that I'm not going to be warring with this administration. I'm going to be working with this administration," Adams said Tuesday.
Americans want the "broken system" fixed, Adams says
The mayor announced that he has reached out to Tom Homan, the incoming Trump administration's new border czar, to hear his ideas about the deportation of illegal immigrants.
Adams said that Americans voted for Trump because of his immigration and border proposals, and it's his duty to help fix the border crisis.
"We cannot ignore the fact that the American people people have communicated to us loudly and clearly that we have a broken system and they want it fixed," Adams said.
The mayor also made clear that he wants to work with the Trump administration on how best to get migrants who commit crimes out the country and out of the city.
"You got a guy, he's on camera shooting at a police officer. I don't want that guy in my city, plain and simple. You got a guy that rapes one young lady, gets out, and go rape another person. I don't want them in the city," Adams said.
The mayor also argued that New Yorkers had paid a steep price for the migrant crisis. The city has spent $6.4 billion to shelter asylum seekers. That's money, he said, that could have been spent on many other things, like hiring 1,000 additional police officers, guidance counselors and social workers for schools, parks workers, and summer youth employment programs.
Immigrant advocates ask for $165 million for legal services
A coalition of elected officials and immigrant rights advocates called on New York officials to invest $165 million to provide legal services for people who might be targeted by the Trump administration for deportation.
"And so what we're doing here is making sure that people who have a legal recourse, the people who have been in ... who are in our country right now, whether it's five minutes, five years, 50 years, they are protected by the constitution. They should be protected by the constitution. And that is why we want to make sure we have the attorneys necessary," Democratic Queens Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz said.