President Elect Trump has promised mass deportations, massive new immigration detention facilities, immigration enforcement officers patrolling all the cities, and [more] AI drones in the skies over the southern border as part of his plan to deport the 12-30 million undocumented immigrants in the US along with their US citizen children and certain legal immigrants…it has gone off the rails and he hasn’t even taken office yet. So can Trump actually enact any of his batshit crazy plans?
Donald Trump has repeatedly promised that on his first day in office he will begin the largest deportation of immigrants in US history, further stating in several interviews that he will take unprecedented steps to identify, apprehend, and remove immigrants in the US without immigration status, stating that he intends to use the US military to execute his mass-deportations. In light of the threats from president-elect Trump, the immigrant communities have been wondering how far Trump can legally in furtherance of his goals. One question people have been asking is whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be sent to patrol the streets of New York City or if ICE agents will be able to raid NYC shelters currently housing thousands of migrants.
Most people are aware that NYC is considered “a sanctuary city” but it isn’t entirely clear what that means. If you ask different people you will get different answers. My understanding is that a sanctuary city is a city that has policies in place that protect undocumented immigrants from federal immigration enforcement and that does not assist federal immigration authorities by providing information or detaining people at the request of ICE. These policies are limited by laws that require cooperation in certain situations of course and most sanctuary cities have exceptions to their own policies for individuals that pose a danger to the community. New York has a number of policies going back decades that defend immigrant rights and protect immigrants from federal enforcement.
For instance, NYC has a policy stating that ICE cannot carryout arrests at sensitive locations including shelters, schools, church’s and hospitals without a judicial warrant signed by a judge..The Governor of NY has made herself clear on the issue. Despite her rather liberal positions on many social issues and the States adoption of many socially liberal policies since she has been Governor, she is jumping on the ‘blame the immigrants’ bandwagon. As a politician she probably can’t turn down the opportunity to shift any anger or blame for the current economic conditions and the brief rise in crime in NY around the time of COVID. Hochul recently said, “Someone breaks the law, I’ll be the first one to call up ICE and say, ‘Get them out of here,’” when asked how she would respond to Trump’s plans for mass deportations and whether New York would be a sanctuary state under her leadership. She went on to say, “When those are identified, I’ll be the first one to help get rid of them.” She did clarify that “those who come here legally, we want to get them jobs.” A popular sentiment shared by many who don’t understand that for the majority of the world there is no way to “come here legally.” Hochul has also said “get them all and send them back”.
The current Mayor of NYC, Eric Adams ran for his office claiming to be a modern day MLK and defender of immigrants rights only a few years ago. However, ever since he was charged with several counts of fraud & corruption and the news broke of his extensive corruption and involvement in criminal activity, he has become a sudden Trump supporter. It seems he is unaware that the President will not be able to pardon him for State charges, or he simply wishes to avoid an additional Federal investigation. Since Trump’s victory he has expressed a willingness to work with the new (old) administration and their promised mass deportations. Adams has stated he even wants to collaborate with the new head of ICE. It is even being said that Adams may be working with the Trump administration to rewrite NYC’s laws relating to immigration status and ICE collaboration.
Recently, Adams again stated that he wants to go above the New York City Council’s authority to roll back NYC’s sanctuary city laws. He does not have the legal authority to change the laws, as those changes would have to go through the legislative process. The Mayor cannot unilaterally change the law but he can certainly issue executive orders that change policies or possibly go even further to make things easier for ICE and more difficult for the people of NY, regardless of whether or not that would be legal. Any major oversteps would eventually go to court but could still do damage. In the past Adams used an emergency executive order to circumvent a new law that banned the use of solitary confinement in NY, which has resulted in a lawsuit.
The good news is that the City Council does not seem to be onboard with Adams in the changing of these policies. Adrienne Eadie Adams, the Speaker of the NYC Council, defended the city’s sanctuary policies earlier this year, saying the policies “foster trust and cooperation between immigrant communities and local authorities which is critical to public safety.”
Trump and the Republican controlled Congress may take steps to force NYS and even NYC to cooperate with their mass deportations. Trump made promises on the campaign trail to “outlaw sanctuary cities” which of course they cannot do. But a bill already passed the House “No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities” that seeks to limit federal funding to “sanctuary cities.” The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which many claim is a blueprint for Trump’s second term outlines the withholding of FEMA money for emergencies, federal money for highways and other important infrastructure, and would basically force NY’s hand since they cannot lose that funding.
The really crazy shit like trying to deport US citizens, he won’t be able to do that. He will be able to try and make people’s lives miserable. It is going to be a difficult time for the immigrant community and his efforts will absolutely devastate the US economy as well.