US Justice Department sues New York City over immigration policies

Washington, July 25 The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against New York City, its Mayor Eric Adams, and several other city officials to challenge the city's sanctuary policies, accusing the city of interfering with enforcing the administration's immigration laws.

"New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies," US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said on Thursday in a statement.

"For too long, New York City has been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing our immigration laws," Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said.

"Its efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement end now."

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan were furious after the off-duty officer was shot, Xinhua news agency reported.

Homan promised to "flood the zone" with immigration agents to go after undocumented immigrants, especially those with a history of violence.

"Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals, hard stop," Homan said.

The case was filed in the Eastern District of New York.

In the past three months, the DOJ has filed lawsuits against Los Angeles, New York State, Colorado, Illinois, the city of Rochester, New York and several New Jersey cities to "invalidate unconstitutional sanctuary policies".

The Trump administration's immigration policies sparked significant backlash in many places across the nation, particularly in states or cities governed by Democrats or widely considered "blue".

Homan expressed his irritation with sanctuary cities, especially New York, at the White House on Thursday, just hours before the Justice Department sued Mayor Eric Adams, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and others for making it more difficult for immigration agents to arrest undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.

"The challenged provisions of New York City law reflect the City's intentional effort to obstruct the United States' enforcement of federal immigration law, by (among much else) impeding the consultation and communication between federal and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for the US to enforce the law and keep Americans safe," the lawsuit claims.

This case was claimed as "fighting back against unlawful obstruction of enforcement of federal immigration laws" by the Justice Department.

The suit cites a number of provisions of New York City code and other policies, including a 2011 provision that bars the Department of Correction from honoring civil immigration detainers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and rules governing the NYPD that limit police officers' ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

The suit also points to the recent shooting of an off-duty US Border Patrol agent in a New York City park during an attempted robbery by an undocumented migrant with a lengthy criminal record and outstanding arrest warrants.

One of Bondi's first directives after she was sworn in as Attorney General focused on sanctuary jurisdictions.

She issued an order to end funding to any that "unlawfully interfere with federal law enforcement operations," and encouraged the department to pursue enforcement actions against sanctuary cities or states that do not comply with the federal government's immigration efforts.

The Trump administration again targeted sanctuary cities after protests over ICE's "expedited removals" policy, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul testified before Congress about the state's sanctuary policies.

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