NYC mayor's memo invites ICE intimidation of city workers, immigration advocates say
NEW YORK — The New York City Council speaker and immigrant advocates are slamming direction from the mayor to city workers about how they should interact with federal immigration agents.
An internal memo obtained by CBS News New York lays out guidance for city workers if federal immigration agents (ICE) come knocking.
Sent from Mayor Eric Adams' administration to the general counsels for all agencies, it directs employees to ask officers for their name and badge number, ask for a warrant or subpoena, and call their agency's counsel.
It goes on to say, if "you reasonably feel threatened or fear for your safety, you should give the officer the information they have asked for or let them enter the site."
The memo was sent a week before President Donald Trump's inauguration.
A spokesman for City Hall told CBS News New York's Ali Bauman it is not blanket guidance for every agency, they are regularly training staff on how to respond to ICE, and insist they are not instructing workers to cooperate with ICE raids.
The mayor's office said in a statement, "We are responsible for safeguarding the well-being of our city staff, which is why we have directed city employees not to put themselves in harm's way."
Critics slam mayor's direction as a violation of sanctuary city laws
Critics call the direction a violation of New York's sanctuary laws.
"I think it says that we are open for business and that we are going to let ICE come into these sensitive locations," New York State Sen. Andrew Gounardes said.
New York's sanctuary laws bar city workers and resources from being used to aid civil immigration enforcement, with exceptions for violent criminals.
"Previous guidance made it clear what was the right thing to do and also enabled people to deescalate the situation. Whereas instead, this current document invites law enforcement to essentially break the law by being intimidating," Legal Aid Society staff attorney Josh Goldfein said.
"People are afraid that they're gonna get caught up in a net, and if the mayor is not willing to take a stand, then people are gonna be afraid to send their kids to school, they're gonna be afraid to visit those hospitals," migrant advocate Power Malu said.
Gounardes sponsors a bill to standardize how civil servants interact with ICE.
"The only time they should be coordinating with them is in the presence of a signed judicial warrant. That should be the standard for New York City and for all of New York state," he said.
The City Council speaker said the council is considering all legal options to reverse the memo and hold the administration accountable.
At least 100 people have been arrested in the sanctuary city of New York since the Trump administration's immigration crackdown began. Thursday, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against officials in the sanctuary city of Chicago for a lack of cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
