Adams administration scenario planning as Trumps new border czar Tom Homan vows sanctuary city crackdown

Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said his administration was “scenario planning” for changes coming down the pike once President-elect Donald Trump takes office — after the incoming “border czar” vowed to crack down on sanctuary cities.Adams defended Gotham’s sanctuary policy as “the law of the city,” but acknowledged the US immigration system needs to be “fixed” and said he’d be willing to work with the incoming Trump administration on the issue.“The voters are stating, ‘We need to secure our borders, we need to make sure cities are not experiment with New York City experienced’,” Adams told reporters Tuesday at his weekly news conference.“I’m willing to sit down with this administration like I tried to sit down with the previous administration,” he said.Adams also stopped short of predicting there won’t be mass deportations under incoming border czar Tom Homan, who has pledged to deport migrant criminals “with or without” the city’s help.“We are going to do everything that is possible to ensure people are treated in a humane way,” he said.“I’m not a supporter of mass deportation, I’m a supporter of making sure our border is secure,” Adams added.“As these situations come up we will address them … we will continue to do what the spirit of our laws are, our city is a sanctuary city,” he said, adding that he didn’t want people to have to “hide in the shadows” due to their immigration status.Adams said his administration will be reaching out to Homan, and that city agencies will work toward getting “clarity on what we can and can’t do” when it comes to migrants.“It’s part of our scenario planning on how we can address whatever is coming out of Washington, DC.

DC cannot keep kicking the can down the road and to cities,” he said.Pressed on concrete examples for how the administration is coping with the crisis — which has gripped the city since spring 2022 — Adams emphasized the need to expedi...