President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar is putting New York City officials on notice that ICE will not hesitate to ramp up its presence in the Big Apple if the sanctuary city doesn’t cooperate with enforcing federal immigration laws.
“If you’re not going to help us, get the hell out of our way,” Tom Homan urged cities like New York whose leaders have been unwilling to aid in the deportation of migrants — even those who have committed crimes.
“If we can’t get assistance from New York City, we may have to double the number of agents we send,” Homan said on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” Monday morning.
“We’re going to do the job with you or without you,” he warned, arguing that current policies negatively impact everyone involved.
“It’s much easier to arrest the bad guy in the jail. Give us access to Rikers Island that we’ve been kicked out of. Let us get the bad guy in jail. It’s safer for the alien, it’s safer for the officer, it’s safer for the community,” he said.
Homas also pointed out that city prosecutors letting offenders go free with little or no bail creates unnecessary danger.
“If you’re releasing bad guys out in the community, we’ve got to go find them. Which puts the officer and the community at risk,” he said.
“The bottom line is, sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals.”
In a statement, Mayor Eric Adams urged Democrats and Republicans to work together on immigration reform to fix the system, adding, “That is what’s best for the American people, as well as the immigrants who come here, seeking the opportunity to build a better life and have a shot at the American Dream.”
Last week, Adams signaled his willingness to work with the incoming Trump administration on the migrant crisis, but insisted Gotham would remain a sanctuary city.
However, a City Hall spokesperson confirmed that due to existing NYC laws, “we will not be providing any information about the undocumented to the federal government.”
Sanctuary city laws limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York’s law was changed to bar cops from collaborating on some, but not all, detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The revisions remain a thorn in the side of police officers to this day, police unions told The Post.
“Police officers don’t get the choice to pick and choose what crimes we enforce, just as we are not the judge and jury,” Vincent Vallelong, president of the 13,000-member NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association said.
“Misguided politicians need to step back and allow every facet of law enforcement to work hand and hand so that the criminals who enter our country illegally are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
“Not doing so is a recipe for criminal anarchy and is unfair to all law-abiding members of society.”
NYC PBA President Patrick Hendry pointed to an ongoing “epidemic of assaults” against New York’s Finest, and said anyone in the country illegally who commits such a crime must serve time and then be immediately deported.
To ensure the department has the resources it needs, he said, “we need our federal partners to continue to do their job to protect those who protect New Yorkers.”
A law enforcement source with knowledge of joint local federal investigations hailed Homan as “a great pick” by the Trump administration.
“He’ll be tough and fair with this crisis. NYC’s migrant gang problem is only getting worse — with the sharp rise in crime due to illegal aliens and violent crime – gangs have become more organized, hopefully Homan can fix this mess we’re in. He’ll show up for New York,” he told The Post.
Meanwhile, uniformed officers, who have borne the brunt of the crime spike that has accompanied the surge of more than 210,000 asylum-seekers arriving since Spring 2022, also welcomed the crackdown the Homan era promises to usher in.
“It will definitely lower crime in Midtown which will help the businesses in the area, and the tourist industry,” one Manhattan cop told The Post.
“If they deport illegal immigrants who commit crime it will start to get pretty lonely along Roosevelt Avenue, quipped a Queens officer in reference to the notorious crime-riddled section of the borough, who added, “the people who live around there will be very happy.”
