Adams, Hochul defend ICE expansion of illegal immigration crackdown to New York City

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump expanded his show of force on illegal immigration to the country’s largest sanctuary city early Tuesday, with the backing of embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem descended on New York City for the heavily publicized arrest of an undocumented immigrant wanted for violent crimes.

“7 AM in NYC. Getting the dirt bags off the streets,” Noem posted on X.

The action sparked swift responses from the state’s leaders, and Attorney General Letitia James said she is monitoring “the increased presence of ICE across New York City.” The Democrat separately promised “imminent legal action” against the Trump administration’s sweeping pause on federal funding.

Several hours after the pre-dawn raid in the Bronx, Adams, a former police captain with a warming relationship with Trump, said in a statement that the city “will not hesitate to partner with federal authorities to bring violent criminals to justice — just as we have done for years.”

The Democratic mayor said he “directed the NYPD to coordinate with DHS’ Homeland Security Investigations and other federal law enforcement agencies — as allowed by law — to conduct a targeted operation.”

Images and video circulated by Noem and her team revealed an individual with kidnapping, assault and burglary charges was taken into custody. Several federal law enforcement agencies took part.

NYPD officers were present for the operation as part of a Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, task force conducting criminal investigations, a police spokesperson said. Sanctuary laws in New York City limit broader local police cooperation with federal immigration officials.

At noon, Adams acknowledged the enforcement action, saying he had “directed the NYPD to coordinate with DHS’ Homeland Security Investigations and other federal law enforcement agencies — as allowed by law — to conduct a targeted operation.”

The mayor added, “Our commitment to protecting our city’s law-abiding residents, both citizens and immigrants, remains unwavering.”

Adams has met with and vowed to find common ground with Trump, while pledging to uphold sanctuary laws the Republican president has assailed. Adams’ public appearances have been limited this week because, his spokespeople say, he is feeling unwell.

The tone of Adams’ statement was markedly different from that of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at a Tuesday news conference.

“I’m standing with the full force of government today to demonstrate that Chicago is a welcoming city regardless of who’s in the White House,” Johnson said, flanked by the police superintendent and his management team.

Democrat Hochul has, like Adams, approved of the removal of violent criminals.

“I want to be clear, there has always been ICE raids in the state of New York, even in the past, and this is not a new dynamic,” she told reporters Tuesday. “My understanding is that they had specific names of people who committed crimes, serious offenders, and those are exactly the people that we want removed from the state of New York.”

The scope of Tuesday’s operation beyond the Bronx arrest was not immediately known. Adams said the arrested individual was wanted in connection with several violent crimes in New York and in Aurora, Colorado.

The raid came as Democratic states and cities are preparing their response to Trump’s freezing of “all federal financial assistance,” a broadening of his administration’s curtailing of the functions of government and a shifting of federal purse strings further away from Congress.

“Just like the Jan. 6 pardons, this decision is lawless, dangerous, destructive, cruel; it’s illegal, it’s unconstitutional,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, previewing a legal challenge by Democratic attorneys general including James.

Democrats are dealing with Trump’s wide-ranging and wide-reaching directives on several fronts.

Before Tuesday’s New York City operation, federal immigration agents had recently begun arrests and raids to varying degrees in Chicago, Atlanta and other Democratic-led cities. ICE has labeled them “targeted” operations.

ICE has reported hundreds of arrests each day since Trump’s Jan. 20 return to the White House, where he launched a slew of executive orders and directives cracking down on illegal immigration. The president is reversing a Biden-era policy restricting ICE enforcement at sensitive locations like schools and expanding expedited removal procedures. He is also seeking to stop birthright citizenship, a move that immediately drew legal challenges.

Federal border czar Tom Homan, who was on the ground in Chicago with TV host Dr. Phil for an operation there over the weekend, has vowed to focus on sanctuary cities that protect immigrants and said those detained may include people without violent criminal records.

Public defenders with the Legal Aid Society responded to the New York City operation by launching a Know Your Rights resource hub on ICE arrests and detention.

Shia Kapos and Jason Beeferman contributed reporting.

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