Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she’s still a firm supporter of sanctuary policies, and criticized New York Mayor Eric Adams’ new proposal to water down his city’s rules preventing cooperation with Homeland Security on deportation detainer requests.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said the city’s policy is important to protecting migrants’ rights, and Mr. Adams’ new embrace of sharing more information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tramples on those rights.
“He’s not just trying to tweak [the law] a little bit,” said Ms. Ocasio Cortez, New York Democrat. “The idea that a person can be deported just on an accusation is substantially different than a conviction and due process, and I disagree.”
Mr. Adams is part of a brewing backlash from Democratic politicians against strict sanctuary policies. The rethink has been fueled by a wave of high-profile crimes blamed on illegal immigrants, including the mob attack on New York police officers, the slaying of a student in Georgia and the killing of a toddler in Maryland. In some of those cases, the accused migrants had been in police custody for other alleged crimes before, but were not turned over to ICE because of sanctuary policies.
“If you commit a felony, a violent act, we should be able to turn you over to ICE and have you deported,” Mr. Adams said Monday.
He expanded on that Tuesday, saying repeat offenders should be particular targets for deportation.
Current law in the city bans its officials from assisting federal agents in most instances. In particular, police and corrections officers are forbidden from honoring detainer requests from ICE. A 2014 law also shuttered ICE’s office at the city jail at Riker’s Island.
The New York City Council has shown no hint it will accept Mr. Adams’ invitation to amend the law.
City officials have defended their policy as a way to maintain trust between immigrants and local authorities, and they argued that if immigrants thought police were sharing information with ICE that would hinder those communities’ cooperation with officers.
But experts say the surge of illegal immigrants under President Biden means there’s a new population of illegal immigrants here, and some of them are notching criminal arrests at a rapid pace.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, has been charged with the murder of the Georgia student, Laken Riley. Mr. Ibarra snuck into the U.S. in 2022 and was arrested in New York last year but was released before ICE could pick him up.
His brother, Diego Ibarra, who was also questioned in connection with the murder, snuck into the U.S. in 2023 and racked up three arrests including drunk driving, theft and failure to appear charges, but was released in each case.
In Maryland, Nilson Noel Trejo-Granados was twice arrested and released by Montgomery County police, defying two ICE detainer requests. He now stands accused of first-degree murder in the slaying of a toddler in neighboring Prince George’s County.
Mr. Biden used to be a sanctuary city supporter and took a harsh line on ICE in the 2020 campaign, including suggesting deportation officers should be fired if they tried to deport anyone with less than a felony conviction.
But this week the White House said Mr. Biden wants to see communities cooperate with ICE.
“We welcome local law enforcement’s support and cooperation in apprehending and removing individuals who pose a risk to national security or public safety,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “When a local jurisdiction has information about an individual who could pose a threat to public safety, we want them to share that information with ICE.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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