NYC mayoral candidates weigh in on immigration protests, response in Los Angeles
Immigration protests across the country and the Trump administration's response to the Los Angeles immigration protests has become a major focus of the New York City mayoral campaign.
About 4,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to California and the defense department is activating 700 Marines as demonstrations continue over ICE raids in California.
Trump says National Guard won't be necessary in NYC, sources say
When Mayor Eric Adams was asked about protests here in the city, he said he is confident that all he needs is the New York City Police Department, not the National Guard, but he also had some inside information from two top aides who played golf with Mr. Trump on Monday.
"A lot of great deals have been made on the golf course," Adams said.
Adams freely admitted that Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry and NYPD Chief of Department John Chell played golf with the president in New Jersey, but what he didn't talk about was the agreement they hammered out.
Sources tell CBS News New York that after calling out the National Guard and the military to deal with protests in Los Angeles, Mr. Trump agreed it wouldn't be necessary to do it in New York, at least for now.
"I don't foresee that. We have the best police department on the globe when it comes down to dealing with those who want to protest," Adams said.
Cuomo says not to overreact to ICE in NYC
CBS News New York political reporter Marcia Kramer spoke to former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who didn't think much of the agreement.
"I hope they had a nice golf game because that's all they had. President Trump is going to do what suits President Trump. President Trump has already made a deal with this mayor that we know very well. He, the mayor, is going to be cooperative with ICE," Cuomo said.
As several of the mayoral contenders tried to roll out plans to deal with the immigration protests and Mr. Trump's response, Cuomo rolled out a six-point plan that includes identifying public spaces where protests can be held safely and pre-positioning the NYPD to deal with any disturbances.
"[I want to] be ready here in New York, and let's be smart. They're going to send in ICE in New York. They are going to do things that are illegal and unconstitutional, but let's not overreact," Cuomo said.
Mamdani, Lander call for more lawyers to represent immigrants
Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani says he's going to be ready to deal with Trump if he gets elected mayor.
"What we deserve in this moment is a mayor who can look that authoritarianism in the eye and not see a reflection of themself. A mayor who has a plan to not just call it what it is, but to stand up and fight back," he said.
Mamdani called for hiring more lawyers to represent immigrants in court.
Comptroller Brad Lander also says more lawyers are a must.
"Forty percent of New Yorkers are immigrants, are foreign-born. Fifty percent, half, of New Yorkers live in mixed status households, including 1 million children. We are talking about the future of New York City, and every day, what Trump does expands jeopardy to cover so many of them," Lander said.
The debate about what to do about immigration arrests and the protests they spawn will likely continue for some time.
