By NYCLU
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
NEW YORK, NY – Tuesday night the Adams Administration announced the establishment of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office at Rikers Island. In response, the New York Civil Liberties Union issued the following statement, attributable to Senior Policy Counsel Zach Ahmad:
“By giving ICE the keys to Rikers Island, the Adams administration is once again selling out New Yorkers for Trump’s dangerous deportation regime.
“This needless concession and the supposed limits on ICE’s role at Rikers are just an attempt to provide cover for ICE’s cruel agenda. Under the guise of public safety, the Trump administration has so far arrested and detained parents of young children, students, and farmworkers, and has sought to use a wartime power, the Alien Enemies Act, to deport without due process.
“It’s worth repeating that ICE’s presence on Rikers serves no legitimate purpose, and opens the door to unlawful collusion between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials in violation of our city’s well-established sanctuary protections. In fact, crime in New York City is down — and there was never any evidence that a surge in crime was caused by immigrants.
“New Yorkers see this for what it is: Mayor Adams skirting the City Council, cozying up to Trump, and putting immigrant New Yorkers in harm’s way.”
