Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday pledged to work with President-elect Donald Trump on the migrant crisis — as officials insisted that the Big Apple will remain a sanctuary city.
A somber, if at-times combative, Adams held a post-election news conference in City Hall in which he largely dodged questions about Trump’s promise to conduct mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
Instead, the mayor and city officials sought to reassure New Yorkers concerned about what Trump’s gobsmacking 2024 presidential victory would mean for the Big Apple, especially for its immigrant communities and thousands of migrants who’ve flowed into the five boroughs.
“New York City will always remain a city of immigrants and the beacon of liberty around the globe,” Adams said.
“We will work with the new administration and Congress to develop a realistic and compassionate national strategy for our immigration system.”
But as Adams extended an olive branch to Trump, his immigrant affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro reaffirmed that Gotham’s sanctuary city laws — which limits cooperation between local officials and the feds on immigration — remain in place.
“We will continue to be a sanctuary city and we will continue to protect our immigrant communities,” Castro said.
Castro, like Adams, sidestepped questions about how the city will deal with a future Trump administration pushing for stricter immigration laws and mass deportations.
He instead said the most harm for immigrant communities at the moment is a “sense of anxiety and panic” and misinformation spreading online.
“I want to reassure people they do not need to self-deport, they do not need to hide, go in the shadows,” he said. “They can continue to use city services, especially emergency services like the police department or hospitals.”
Adams noted he opposed part of the city’s sanctuary policies changed under former Mayor Bill de Blasio that bars police from collaborating with some, but not all, detainer requests from the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
“I don’t support that, I’ve said that over and over again,” he said.
“But the law of the land in this city is that sanctuary city law, and we’re going to abide by that.”
The mayor also expressed hope that Trump’s incoming administration would provide financial assistance for the city’s hefty cost of dealing with the migrant crisis.
“We should not be picking up the tab for migrants and asylum seekers, this is a federal problem,” he said.