“Just this week, New York City’s sanctuary policies have reaped tragic consequences,” Justice Department attorneys wrote in the lawsuit, citing a recent incident in which an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol was shot in an attempted robbery gone wrong.
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced a lawsuit against New York City’s so-called “sanctuary”-type immigration policies, claiming that the local government’s approach to policy endangers federal immigration enforcement agents and poses an imminent risk to the general public.
The lawsuit is similar in its content and claims to a spate of similar complaints filed by the Trump administration in courts across the country. Since President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, his Department of Justice has litigated, and is continuing to litigate, claims against the states of New York, Colorado, and Illinois.
The Upstate New York city of Rochester, along with several New Jersey municipalities, are all facing related lawsuits.
In its claim against New York City, the Justice Department alleges that local policies are knowingly “designed to impede the Federal Government’s ability to enforce the federal immigration laws” that take priority over state-level statutes.
“New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.”
“Just this week, New York City’s sanctuary policies have reaped tragic consequences,” Justice Department attorneys wrote in the lawsuit, citing a recent incident in which an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol was shot in what appears to have been an attempted robbery gone wrong.
“Both [suspects] entered the United States illegally and were repeatedly arrested for criminal behavior since,” the lawsuit says of Miguel Mora and Cristan Aybar Berroa, the two main suspects in the case.
“[Mora] was arrested four different times in New York City, and because of the mayor’s policies and sanctuary city policies, was released back to do harm to people and to individuals living in this city,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a scandal-beleaguered Democrat, said that his city’s law office will review the lawsuit.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe also means making sure they feel safe, and we have been clear: no one should be afraid to dial 911, send their kids to school, or go to the hospital, and no New Yorker should feel forced to hide in the shadows,” Adam said in response to the lawsuit.
In the same statement, Adams clarified that, while he supports “the essence of local laws,” he believes that some policies “go too far when it comes to dealing with those violent criminals on our streets” and urged the city council to find new ways to “ensure we can effectively work with the federal government to make our city safer.”
Sources
Justice Department Sues New York City Over Sanctuary Policies
Trump administration sues New York City over its ‘sanctuary city’ policies
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