Mayor Eric Adams is under fire from his primary challengers for remaining largely silent on former President Donald Trump’s latest crackdown on immigrants in New York City.
They slammed Adams for failing to respond after Trump’s Justice Department subpoenaed city-contracted hotels providing shelter and services to newly arrived migrants, according to published reports. ABC7 reported that the DOJ issued subpoenas Wednesday to the Roosevelt Hotel, the Row NYC, and the Chandler Hotel, requesting the names and personal information of migrants staying there.
The DOJ also sought the names of those responsible for funding and managing the shelters, reports indicate.
Adams also faced backlash for his muted response to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s recent detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and lawful permanent resident. While many local Democratic pols condemned Khalil’s detainment and potential deportation, Adams refrained from doing so, stating instead that immigration enforcement falls solely under federal jurisdiction.
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn), one of Adams’ primary challengers, charged that the embattled mayor is “nowhere to be found” in the face of Trump “bullying” the city.
“We need a mayor in this city that is willing to stand up for New Yorkers, not someone willing to cave to a wannabe tyrant,” Myrie said. “Anybody that cannot stand up to Donald Trump does not deserve to sit in City Hall. Anybody that is silent in this moment does not deserve to represent our city.”
The comments could also be taken as a dig at former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has also drawn backlash for not more forcefully standing up to Trump.
In response to Myrie’s comments, mayoral spokesperson Liz Garcia reiterated that Adams wants to “work with the president, not war with him, to better the lives of New Yorkers.”
“Others can give uninformed comments and make empty promises that won’t actually help New Yorkers, but they simply cannot match the mayor’s record,” she added.
Garcia pointed to the city Law Department last month suing the Trump administration to reclaim $80 million in migrant aid that it clawed back from the city’s coffers last month. Adams has maintained that while his administration will work with federal immigration authorities on criminal matters, it will not cooperate on civil immigration enforcement.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, during a Wednesday press conference, called the Trump administration’s detention of Khalil “a new low” that violates the U.S. Constitution. The speaker, who is also running for mayor, said she “did not hear an appropriate response” from Mayor Adams on Khalil’s detention.
Another mayoral candidate, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, said in a Wednesday statement that Adams is standing “idly by.”
“He knows as long as he kisses Trump’s ring, he can avoid legal accountability,” Mamdani said. “New Yorkers deserve a leader who will stand up for our Constitutional rights against advancing authoritarianism.”
Mamdani also blasted a couple of statements that Cuomo released about Khalil’s detainment, neither of which clearly condemned the arrest.
Many Democratic leaders believe that Adams is rolling over for the Trump administration, particularly on immigration enforcement, following its move to drop his federal corruption charges. Adams has repeatedly denied that he made any deal with the Trump administration to do its bidding in exchange for having his case dismissed.
But since the DOJ moved to scuttle Adams’ case, he has met with Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, and pledged to sign an executive order to let ICE once again operate on Rikers Island. Although Adams has not signed the order yet, he is due to meet with Homan again this week, the border czar told reporters in Albany on Wednesday.
During Myrie’s press conference, he said Adams should be marshalling the city’s resources to defend the hotels that the DOJ subpoenaed — reportedly as part of a criminal probe into the funding and management of migrant shelter hotels in the city. He urged the mayor to direct the city’s Law Department to assist the hotels in the investigation and to collaborate with the state Attorney General’s office.
“You can get a subpoena from the Department of Justice for doing the work you were contracted to do, trying to help vulnerable New Yorkers, and the city will leave you alone, abandon you, not step up,” Myrie said. “So, at minimum, this administration should be communicating to these businesses and institutions that they have their back.”
