NEW YORK, CMC – Caribbean immigration advocates on Wednesday strongly condemned New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s appearance before the United States Congressional Committee on Oversight amid heightened calls for his resignation over reported collusion with President Donald J. Trump over mass deportations.
Adams and three other mayors of “sanctuary cities”—Chicago, Boston, and Denver—testified before the Committee.
“In today’s Congressional hearing on sanctuary cities, we saw further evidence that Eric Adams is unfit to lead New York City,” Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella organization that represents over 200 immigrant advocacy groups in New York, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
“Even in this sham hearing – which was mostly an opportunity for extremist MAGA Republicans to spew hate and distortions about immigration – the mayor’s ability to lead the city was repeatedly questioned,” he added. “We did not expect to learn much from this spectacle, but as Congress members questioned Eric Adams, we rarely got past the debate of whether he entered a quid pro quo agreement with the Trump administration.
“Instead of going to bat for all New Yorkers, Adams once again stood up for himself and himself alone,” Awawdeh continued. “We commend the Mayors of Boston, Chicago, and Denver for standing up for their city’s residents and promoting sanctuary policies that ensure public safety for all.”
Natalia Aristizabal of Make the Road Action, another immigrant advocacy group in New York, said: “Time and again, Mayor Adams has shown that he is more interested in cozying up to the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda than protecting everyone in New York City.
“Instead of showing leadership and standing up for our immigrant communities, the mayor is selling out immigrant families to salvage his political career,” she told CMC. “During today’s hearing, Mayor Adams—in stark contrast to the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and Denver—refused to stand up for New York City’s laws and communities.
“While anti-immigrant politicians attacked immigrants, Mayor Adams seemed more than happy to amplify their falsehoods and scapegoat our neighbors,” Aristizabal added. “The mayor pointed to the cost of welcoming new New Yorkers as a burden to taxpayers, ignoring that his administration approved millions of dollars in spending to contractors who were unqualified and gouging the city. He is seeking to shift the blame for his fiscal mismanagement.
“It is clear that Mayor Adams’s legal case and agreement with the Trump administration makes him unfit to serve as mayor of New York City,” she continued. “This is why we are pushing for New York for All—a statewide law limiting collaboration between local law enforcement and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency). We cannot trust local politicians who save their skins by betraying our communities.”
Adams testified to the Congressional Oversight Committee: “Federal law did not allow me to stop buses from entering New York City. State law required me to provide our city with housing and meals and educate children. City law makes it unlawful to collaborate with ICE for civil enforcement.
“We complied with all of these legal requirements and still managed the humanitarian crisis with care and compassion while at the same time bringing down crime, recovering our economy, and preventing any child from being forced to sleep on the streets,” added the mayor, stating that “comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue.
“While the solution is not within my control, as a mayor, I am committed to working with federal officials — no matter who is president — to go after violent gangs and those who harm residents of our city,” he continued. “That is why we have over 330 NYPD (New York Police Department) officers assigned to different federal joint task forces — over 70 of which are assigned to task forces with Homeland Security Investigations, the criminal investigations arm of ICE.”
Adams said those task forces focus on “many different vital priorities, including going after violent gangs and child exploitation.
“I look forward to sharing how New York City collaborates daily with our city, state, and federal partners to keep our city safe,” he said.
As calls intensify for the mayor to step down, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul last month proposed new actions to restore public trust in the city’s government.
Hochul announced sweeping expansion of state oversight and new guardrails to ensure what she described as “accountability” and the protection of New Yorkers.
However, the governor noted that these actions would require legislative action and take effect immediately upon passage.
However, Awawdeh said that “New York City, under Mayor Eric Adams, is beholden to Donald Trump’s demands.
“No new checks that New York State could impose on New York City will fix that issue,” he told CMC. “Eric Adams sold out New Yorkers to avoid prosecution for corruption charges in a quid pro quo deal with the Trump administration, plain and simple.
“Now, he is working with the Trump administration to separate families in New York City in direct violation of our local sanctuary policies,” Awawdeh added. “All New Yorkers will face real and dire consequences from Gov. Hochul’s refusal to hold the mayor accountable for his actions.
“The people will not remain silent in the face of the threat posed by Eric Adams to immigrant New Yorkers,” he said.
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