The Trump administration filed a lawsuit on the 24th against New York City’s “sanctuary city” policy, claiming that the city government’s policy hindered the federal government’s enforcement of immigration laws and led to the recent shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer.
The federal lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits filed by the Justice Department against state or city governments that interfere with immigration laws.
“New York City has released thousands of criminals back to the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens because of its sanctuary city policy,” Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi said in a press release. “If New York City does not stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.”
Also listed as defendants in the lawsuit are New York Mayor Eric Adams, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and several city officials and departments, and the policies targeted by the lawsuit include prohibiting city law enforcement units from detaining detained immigrants after their release date expires.
Mayoral spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak Altus said the mayor “supports the substance” of the city’s policies but urged the City Council to “re-examine those policies and ensure we can work effectively with the federal government to make our city safer” when it comes to “dealing with criminals.” Altus added: “The City Council is still refusing to cooperate.”
A representative for the City Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit comes after a CBP officer was shot in a Manhattan park over the weekend, with Trump administration officials blaming the city’s sanctuary policies; the officer was on leave and not in uniform at the time of the incident.
Authorities said the two men arrested for the robbery on the 19th had been arrested multiple times since entering the United States illegally from the Dominican Republic several years ago; the lawsuit claims that one of the men was detained after being arrested in 2024 but was eventually released.
The 42-year-old officer was sitting with a woman in a park under the George Washington Bridge when two men approached on a moped, police said. The unnamed officer drew his service gun and exchanged gunfire with one of the men, hitting the officer in the face and arm and the suspect in the groin and leg.
