After ICE protest arrests in New York City, Trump administration memo targets sanctuary cities
One day after police clashed with people protesting federal immigration tactics in New York City, a new memo from the Trump administration ordered sanctuary cities to change their immigration laws to align with federal policies.
It comes as New York officials are demanding the release of a Bronx high school student detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a routine court hearing on his asylum.
Protests over ICE's "expedited removals" in NYC
Recent demonstrations have come in response to ICE's "expedited removals" policy, which has agents arrest asylum seekers when they appear for such hearings.
New York is one of four cities where ICE agents have acted under the policy. Several people were detained this week at the federal immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan.
In an interview Thursday with CBS News' Major Garrett, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is willing to work with ICE agents on criminal investigations, but said agency's recent actions are "wrong on so many levels and we have to stand up and call it out for what it is."
"This is the complete opposite of what President Trump promised to run when he ran and what he told me in many conversations, that they're going after the worst of the worst, the people who've committed crimes in their own countries, people that are committing crimes in our state and harming others," Hochul said. "I mean, I'll work with ICE, and I've said this hundreds of times, that those are the people I also want out of my state, but those who are following the rules, going down to Immigration Court, to have their required meeting on their path to asylum, they're just sitting ducks now."
While the Department of Homeland Security has not confirmed details of what happened inside the federal building, or if it was part of an operation ongoing, witnesses told CBS News New York it appeared masked ICE agents were waiting outside elevators.
"For reasons of operational security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not discuss law enforcement tactics or confirm current, ongoing or future operations," DHS said in a statement to CBS News New York.
"I've never seen anything like this. I've been working here for a couple years and I've never seen, either this many agents let alone, but agents dressed in plain clothes, wearing masks, pulling people out of line. It's totally out of the ordinary," a man who works at the building said.
Photos appear to show masked ICE agents in civilian clothes apparently waiting to make arrests. The images were provided to CBS News New York by a man who identifies as a government employee working in one of the buildings where immigration hearings are held.
Tom Homan, the Trump administration's border czar, says ICE agents are wearing masks now to prevent themselves from being doxxed. He told CBS News he is trying to vastly increase the agency's number of arrests and removals.
"We've increased targeting. We've increased teams. We've increased assets," Homan said.
On Thursday, city leaders rallied to demand the release of the Bronx high school student, identified as Dylan.
"The administration is so concerned about keeping our communities safer, why did the president pardon 1,500 felons?" Rep. Nydia Velazquez said.
"Dylan, you have touched off a nerve in this city," City Councilwoman Gale Brewer said.
Congressman Dan Goldman said he confronted agents in the lobby of 290 Broadway, another building where his office is located and immigration hearings are held.
"This is Gestapo-like behavior," Goldman said. "They are just arresting everybody and figuring it out later."
NYPD officers, protesters clash outside federal immigration court
Last week's arrest of the 20-year-old Bronx student and the ongoing ICE activity sparked ugly protests Wednesday night. Officers and crowds clashed over barricades. Twenty-three people were arrested and 18 summonses were issued.
365bet官方网站 Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voiced concerns, saying, "ICE should be going after criminals, not people who are showing up in court and trying to play by the rules."
Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, also raised concerns.
"We know that these arrests are part of a pattern that we've been seeing across this city, including in the arrest of a New York City public school student," Mamdani said.
Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat running for reelection as an independent, said he's worried ICE's arrest policy will have a chilling effect on the city's immigrant community.
"Keeping New Yorkers safe has always been Mayor Adams' top priority, and he has been clear that our city is less safe when people are afraid to use public resources -- like sending their children to school, going to a hospital when injured, or dialing 911 when in need of help -- and instead hide in the shadows. In keeping with the local law, New York City did not coordinate with ICE on these operations and has not discussed it with federal agencies. We continue to encourage anyone in New York City with questions on what to do if they or their loved one is detained by ICE to reach out to our legal support hotline or reach out to one of our Legal Support Centers," a City Hall spokesperson said Thursday.
Earlier in the week, Adams said sanctuary city laws prevent him from asking Homan to do anything.
"Something happens during those hearings, we're not responsible for them, we're not in charge of them. And so I think that that's a question that should be referred to federal authorities," the mayor said.
The arrests also worried immigrant rights advocates.
"People are making really hard choices about what and how they move moving forward," Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of Immigration Coalition, said. "It's a catch-22. You don't show up for your court hearing, then you also then could be ordered removed from the country and deported."
City Hall is urging people whose loved ones are detained to call the city's Legal Support Hotline at 800-354-0365 or reach out to one of the city's .
Meanwhile, President Trump is shaking up the leadership at ICE. Sources told CBS News the president wants the agency to step up the pace of deportations.
