{"id":2976,"date":"2025-09-16T10:53:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/?p=2976"},"modified":"2025-09-16T10:53:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:53:39","slug":"speaker-adrienne-adams-council-members-and-civil-rights-advocates-celebrate-state-supreme-courts-final-ruling-blocking-trumps-new-ice-office-on-rikers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/2025\/09\/16\/2976\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker Adrienne Adams, Council Members, and Civil Rights Advocates Celebrate State Supreme Court\u2019s Final Ruling Blocking Trump\u2019s New ICE Office on Rikers"},"content":{"rendered":"

City leaders highlight how Trump administration\u2019s continued, extreme actions to separate families and target city\u2019s immigrant communities undermine public safety<\/em><\/p>\n

Council emphasizes over $80 million for immigration legal services secured in budget as critical to safeguard New Yorkers\u2019 civil rights<\/em><\/p>\n

City Hall, NY \u2013<\/strong> Today, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Council Members, and civil rights advocates held a press conference highlighting the New York State Supreme Court\u2019s final decision<\/a> that invalidated Mayor Adams\u2019 executive order<\/a> to open an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office on Rikers Island. The decision was the fourth consecutive court ruling against Mayor Adams\u2019 administration for attempting to grant President Trump\u2019s ICE and other federal agencies with special access to Rikers. Prior to her final decision, New York State Supreme Court Judge Mary Rosado issued an interim temporary restraining order (TRO)<\/a>, TRO, and a preliminary injunction<\/a> prohibiting any advancement of the executive order. The Council\u2019s lawsuit<\/a> argued a conflict of interest by the mayoral administration, specifically that \u201cExecutive Order 50 is the poisoned fruit of Mayor Adams\u2019s deal with the Trump Administration: if the Mayor cooperated with the administration\u2019s immigration enforcement priorities, including by permitting ICE to operate on Rikers, the charges against him would be dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city leaders illustrated the ways in which the Trump administration\u2019s extreme political agenda to separate families, target communities, and threaten interference in cities undermines public safety. The Trump administration has been targeting more New Yorkers<\/a> without criminal convictions or charges, including those seeking to comply with mandated immigration court appearances<\/a>, and public-school students<\/a>. The federal actions have spread chaos and fear in New York City neighborhoods, undermining economic activity and tourism<\/a>. President Trump has recently been threatening to send the national guard<\/a> into cities, including New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe courts recognized all along that Mayor Adams and Randy Mastro\u2019s attempt to do Trump\u2019s bidding\u2014and by extension, betray their obligation to New Yorkers\u2014was unlawful,\u201d said Speaker Adrienne Adams<\/strong>. \u201cThis City Council has stood firm to protect the rights and safety of all New Yorkers from Trump\u2019s extreme political agenda, which has weaponized ICE to disregard due process Constitutional rights, separate families, and target our diverse communities. The Trump administration\u2019s continued actions undermine public safety in our city, because when New Yorkers are afraid of cooperating with our local officials and discouraged from reporting crime and seeking help, our city is less safe. The Council will remain united to protect New Yorkers\u2019 civil rights and safety from extreme, intrusive federal overreach that harms our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

An excerpt from the New York State Supreme Court\u2019s decision reads<\/strong>:
\u201cThe Court need not reach whether there actually was a conflict of interest because the timeline<\/a> of public statements<\/a> and the ongoing criminal prosecution<\/a> so clearly demonstrate an impermissible appearance of a conflict of interest. The appearance of this conflict and Mayor Adams\u2019 failure to recuse himself fully tainted the entire process by which Executive Order 50 was issued, making it null and void pursuant to New York City Charter. The argument that the conflict was cleansed by delegating to First Deputy Mayor Mastro farcical.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Council secured over $80 million dollars for immigration legal services in the recently adopted Fiscal Year 2026 budget to protect New Yorkers\u2019 civil rights in immigration-related legal proceedings, as the Trump administration engages in extreme actions that target New Yorkers and disregard Constitutional rights. The funding includes a new $16.5 million initiative to provide legal services for unaccompanied minors and adults with children navigating the immigration court system.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllowing ICE to set up operations on Rikers Island would mean a terrifying threat to the hundreds of vulnerable New Yorkers, and a direct line for more horrific, violent kidnappings,\u201d said Council Member Alexa Avil\u00e9s, <\/strong>chair of the Committee on Immigration. \u201cThe City Council immediately jumped in to fight this unlawful, unjust, and destructive executive order because we refuse to allow New Yorkers\u2019 rights to be dismantled. We will not allow our public resources to be drained for Trump\u2019s mass deportation agenda. But this is only one fight in a sea of injustices. While we applaud the decision by NYS Supreme Court Judge Mary Rosado to protect our laws, we also must keep our sights on the future, so we can carry on our fight for the safety of our city. The City Council will continue to stand up for our immigrant neighbors and we will not comply with violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJudge Rosado\u2019s decision to block Mayor Adams from putting ICE back on Rikers is a victory not only for our immigrant communities, but for the human rights of all New Yorkers,\u201d said Council Member Sandy Nurse<\/strong>, Chair of the Committee on Criminal Justice. \u201cDonald Trump\u2019s mass deportation agenda is racist, cruel, and we will not stand for it. The court’s ruling sends a powerful message: New York City will not be bullied into violating our sanctuary laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m proud to join the New York City Council in fighting against Eric Adams and Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda,\u201d said Council Member Shekar Krishnan<\/strong>. \u201cWe are a City Council committed to protecting New Yorkers, from overriding the Mayor’s veto of my legislation to safeguard immigrant street vendors to fighting Adams in court to prevent Trump from opening an ICE office on Rikers Island. This latest court decision makes our city safer and ensures New York City is not a blank check for Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud the court for striking down the Mayor\u2019s attack on sanctuary, which sought to return ICE to Rikers Island and give them free reign to target New Yorkers, and we are grateful for the leadership of our City Council and the Speaker who stood up for our values as a city,\u201d said Yasmine Farhang<\/strong>, Executive Director of the Immigrant Defense Project. \u201cTo roll back the clock a decade would have fueled a severe abuse of power against New Yorkers \u2013 especially Black, Latinx and other immigrants of color \u2013 at the same time that the violence, abuse and mismanagement at Rikers worsens daily. Together we are clear and unequivocal: our city\u2019s historic sanctuary laws ensure that the rights of New Yorkers are protected and that our city resources help all New Yorkers thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision rightly stops Mayor Adams\u2019s dangerous, anti-immigrant policy in its tracks,\u201d said Donna Lieberman<\/strong>, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. \u201cGiving ICE the keys to Rikers Island violates New York City\u2019s sanctuary laws, puts immigrant New Yorkers in jeopardy, and serves no legitimate purpose. Instead of cozying up to Trump and making needless concessions to ICE, we encourage Mayor Adams to respect the will of the people and uphold New York City\u2019s well-established sanctuary laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly this year, Mayor Adams sold out immigrant New Yorkers by attempting to allow ICE to reopen an office at Rikers Island, in a quid pro quo with President Trump to get his corruption charges dropped. This was a shameless attempt to help the Trump Administration carry out its mass criminalization and deportation agenda for the mayor’s selfish benefits,\u201d said Melanie Dominguez<\/strong>, organizing director for the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. \u201cYesterday, Justice Mary V. Rosado ruled that the Mayor’s Executive Order to allow immigration authorities into Rikers Island presented a conflict of interest and was outright illegal. We hail this ruling; instead of working with ICE to further criminalize immigrants, the Mayor should be working to shut down the deadly jail complex and protect all New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ruling is a critical victory for all New Yorkers and a rejection of the federal government\u2019s mass deportation agenda, and of the Adams administration\u2019s unlawful and dangerous Executive Order 50,\u201d said Meghna Philip<\/strong>, Director of the Special Litigation Unit at The Legal Aid Society. \u201cThe Executive Order was a clear violation of New York City\u2019s sanctuary protections and would have opened the door to racial profiling, wrongful deportations, and constitutional violations by ICE on Rikers Island. The court\u2019s decision ensures that ICE stays out of New York City jails and that our sanctuary city laws are upheld.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court\u2019s decision to strike down Mayor Adams\u2019s Executive Order 50 is a major victory for immigrant New Yorkers and for our city as a whole,\u201d said Rex Chen<\/strong>, Supervising Counsel for Immigrant Rights, LatinoJustice PRLDEF. \u201cTrue public safety comes from protecting rights and keeping families together, not from collaborating with ICE. LatinoJustice will continue fighting to protect immigrant communities and to permanently shut down Rikers Island once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law is clear: The Department of Corrections cannot expend limited city resources on federal law enforcement. New York City has always been, and will always be a city of immigrants,\u201d said Brittany S. Brown<\/strong>, Supervising Attorney, Collateral Consequences Unit at New York County Defender Services. \u201cThis decision affirms our city\u2019s commitment to the rights of all New Yorkers and further affirms that every New Yorker has the right to due process and to see their criminal case through without unlawful interference and disruption from ICE. We thank the NYC Council for fighting to uphold our city\u2019s laws and for defending the rights of non-citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud to be here with Speaker Adams, Council Members, and other immigration advocates and legal service providers standing up for the rights of our New York City immigrant communities,\u201d said Leslie C. Allen<\/strong>, Director of Legal Services, the New York City Anti-Violence Project. \u201cAllowing ICE to operate at Rikers would have undermined the safety of all New Yorkers, and especially the safety of LGBTQ+ immigrant survivors of violence. Implementation of Executive Order 50 would have posed a direct threat to New York City\u2019s sanctuary policies, endangering vulnerable LGBTQ+ immigrants and jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of New York City. We are grateful to the City Council for pushing back against Mayor Adams\u2019 administration and for the court\u2019s decision which has safeguarded access to law enforcement and essential services for all New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mayor\u2019s attempt to bring ICE back to Rikers Island has failed,\u201d said Murad Awawdeh<\/strong>, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition. \u201cBy declaring the Mayoral Administration’s executive order to re-open an ICE office at Rikers \u2018null and void,\u2019 the NYS Supreme Court has offered a vital degree of protection for our immigrant neighbors. Thousands of New Yorkers will no longer face the prospect of detention and deportation because they were sent to Rikers after being simply accused \u2013 not convicted \u2013 of a crime. New York City must never collude with the Federal Administration\u2019s mass deportation agenda, and our Mayor should be ensuring that every New Yorker has their due process rights protected. We commend the NYS Supreme Court, Speaker Adrienne Adams, City Council and the people of New York for continuing to stand up for our immigrant neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this ruling, the court shut the door on this politically motivated and entirely baseless attempt to strengthen the arrest-to-deportation pipeline in New York City,\u201d said Rosa Cohen-Cruz<\/strong>, Director of Immigration Policy at The Bronx Defenders. \u201cWe commend the Speaker, New York City Council, and the Public Advocate for swiftly and courageously standing up for our sanctuary policies, which have kept New Yorkers safe and advanced justice for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City leaders highlight how Trump administration\u2019s continued, extreme actions to separate families and target city\u2019s immigrant communities undermine public safety<\/em><\/p>\n

Council emphasizes over $80 million for immigration legal services secured in budget as critical to safeguard New Yorkers\u2019 civil rights<\/em><\/p>\n

City Hall, NY \u2013<\/strong> Today, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Council Members, and civil rights advocates held a press conference highlighting the New York State Supreme Court\u2019s final decision<\/a> that invalidated Mayor Adams\u2019 executive order<\/a> to open an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office on Rikers Island.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

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