Mayor Eric Adams echoes call for changes to New York's sanctuary city laws
NEW YORK -- There is growing pressure on the City Council to amend New York's sanctuary city laws so that migrants who commit crimes can be deported.
It comes after the rape of a woman in Brooklyn over the weekend.
For Mayor Eric Adams, the issue is crystal clear.
"People who are violent New Yorkers should not be allowed to stay in our city," Adams said Wednesday.
The mayor is calling on the council to amend the sanctuary laws so that the NYPD can notify Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents about violent crimes committed by migrants.
"What we need to alter are those who are repeat, violent offenders. After they served their time they should be turned over to ICE and be removed from our city," Adams said.
The mayor's remarks came less than a day after NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell sounded the alarm about some migrants.
"Most of them are here for the American dream, but there's a small portion that are not ... We don't care what your status is. You commit a violent crime, there's gotta be consequences for it," Chell said. "We're just looking for local government to maybe make that adjustment to those laws to really -- at the end of the day, this all falls under the banner of keeping people safe."
Migrants accused in Coney Island rape
It comes in the wake of the arrest of two migrants charged with the rape of a 46-year-old woman in Coney Island. One of them, David Davon-Bonilla, 24, of Nicaragua, previously served time after pleading guilty to sexual assault at a city shelter last year.
"He shouldn't have been allowed to stay in this country after the first sexual assault," Councilman Robert Holden said.
Back in June, Holden, along with Councilman Joe Borelli, introduced a bill to repeal New York sanctuary status. Holden claims the City Council won't bring the bill up for a vote because it is, in his words, too "woke."
"They wont. I know they won't unless, again as I said, something bad happens," Holden said.
A spokesperson for Council Speaker Adrienne Adams insisted, "City law allows for individuals convicted of violent or serious crimes to be held on immigration detainers with a judicial warrant from ICE. In the case regarding Mr. Davon-Bonilla, the federal agency never took the necessary action to take Davon-Bonilla into custody, despite him being held on Rikers for over 14 months."
"We've got Third World crimes happening"
But its not as simple as that. The mayor and law enforcement officials say they're not allowed to contact ICE agents to report crimes that have been committed.
ICE Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo spoke to CBS News New York last month.
"If we are not cooperating and sanctuary policies do not allow NYPD to cooperate with my staff, how are we able to keep the community safe?" Genalo said.
"We've got one guy here who committed 22 crimes in six months," Councilwoman Vickie Paladino said. "Our cops are getting beaten up. We've got Third World crimes happening."
Immigration advocates argue the law is needed to protect migrants and encourage them to cooperate with police if they are the victim or witness to a crime.
The Legal Aid Society condemned the mayor's call to roll back the sanctuary laws, calling it "xenophobic," and that it serves to "advance anti-immigrant sentiments that are already fueling division and animosity across the five boroughs."