NYC Targeted in Trump Immigration Crackdown After Chicago
(Bloomberg) -- The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a high-profile operation in the Bronx, joined by recently appointed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after hitting Chicago on Sunday.
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The displays come after President Donald Trump made sweeping moves on immigration as part of his promise to carry out the largest mass deportation in US history, focusing initially on migrants with criminal records. ICE reported on Monday that it had made 1,179 arrests, bringing the total since Jan. 23 to 3,552. It has touted arrests in Chicago, Baltimore, Buffalo, Atlanta and San Francisco.
Noem posted on social media that she joined an “enforcement operation” in New York City early Tuesday morning. The individual arrested was connected with multiple violent crimes in New York and Aurora, Colorado, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“Criminal alien with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges is now in custody,” Noem posted on X. “Dirtbags like this will continue to be removed from our streets.”
Trump has declared a national emergency at the southern border, ordering thousands of additional troops to assist with enforcement. He’s also cut off access to asylum and on Monday directed all federal agencies to pause federal funding if they don’t comply with his executive orders.
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Republican lawmakers also set their sights on sanctuary cities, whose laws limit cooperation with ICE. The mayors of New York, Chicago, Denver and Boston have been called by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to testify about their policies at a February hearing.
In Tuesday’s arrest, the New York Police Department coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, Adams said in a statement.
“As I have repeatedly said, we will not hesitate to partner with federal authorities to bring violent criminals to justice — just as we have done for years,” he said. “Our commitment to protecting our city’s law-abiding residents, both citizens and immigrants, remains unwavering.”
The law in New York allows the city to cooperate with ICE detainer requests in cases of individuals who have been convicted of certain violent or serious crimes or are identified as a possible match in the terrorist screening database. The city doesn’t help in the transfer of those people to ICE’s custody and also doesn’t track the immigration status of people in its custody.
The NYPD has told officers that its rules block them from participating in “immigration enforcement actions conducted by ICE” and that requests from federal immigration authorities must undergo legal review before the department provides assistance.
Adams has called on the city, which has tightened its sanctuary laws in recent years, to reform its policies to allow for more compliance with federal authorities when it comes to people accused of crimes.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he had received the request to testify, but wouldn’t say whether he will attend the hearing.
“Chicago is a welcoming city regardless of who’s in the White House,” he said. “The welcoming city ordinance is a law, and it is the law of the land. Here in Chicago, we will uphold it.”
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Boston counterpart Michelle Wu both said they are reviewing the request to testify. In a statement, Johnston called on Congress to “fix our broken immigration system.”
“We follow the laws fully here in Boston,” Wu told reporters on Tuesday. The federal government has its own domain and “we are not forced to participate in their actions just as they are not asked to carry out filling potholes and other things like that.”
Most of the immigration enforcement that has taken place so far has mirrored what was already happening under President Joe Biden, Wu said.
Trump has so far increased the tempo of arrests, in part thanks to expanding the ranks of federal agents who can participate. The Biden administration oversaw just over 500,000 arrests in its four years in office, averaging about 343 daily arrests.
--With assistance from Myles Miller and Vincent Del Giudice.
(Updates with comments from New York, Boston and Denver mayors throughout.)
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