Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, appeared to threaten Mayor Eric Adams as the pair sat side-by-side on live TV Friday morning, saying he would be “up [the mayor’s] butt” if Hizzoner does not come through on executing Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Homan made the stunning remark during a Friday morning interview with himself and Adams on FOX & Friends following a meeting between the two in Manhattan on Thursday. That summit resulted in Adams vowing to once again allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to operate on Rikers Island.
But Homan warned that there will be consequences if Adams does not deliver on his promises to the border czar in a satisfactory manner.
“If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City,” Homan warned. “And we won’t be sitting on a couch. I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying where the hell is the agreement we came to.”
The mayor, who sat beside Homan laughing, added, “And I want ICE to deliver. We’re going to deliver for the safety of the American people.”
Adams and Homan also appeared together in a nearly hour-long interview with Dr. Phil McGraw that was released Friday afternoon.
Homan’s threat comes just days after Trump’s Justice Department directed Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop Adams’ criminal corruption case. In the DOJ memo requesting that Adams’ charges be dismissed, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said that Adams’ case prevented him from assisting Trump with his immigration agenda.
The directive set off a spate of resignations at SDNY and the main DOJ on Thursday and Friday. Those who left their posts rather than write a motion to dismiss Adams’ charges included former acting Manhattan US Attorney Danielle Sassoon, Assistant US Attorney Hagan Scotten, and five officials in the DOJ’s Public Integrity Division.
On Friday afternoon, Rueters reported that one prosecutor in the public integrity unit volunteered to write the motion to dismiss under duress and to spare his colleagues from getting fired.
Sanctuary laws
During the Fox interview, Adams suggested that he wants to allow the NYPD to collaborate with ICE on civil enforcement matters, which is not currently allowed under the city’s sanctuary laws. The mayor said he would like the City Council to loosen the city’s sanctuary laws so cops can cooperate with ICE on detaining undocumented immigrants for civil offenses — adding “if you have committed a crime.”
“What I asked the City Council to do is change the bill that was already in place and modify it,” Adams said. “That if you are committing a crime, that we should be able to collaborate with ICE, even on civil enforcement if you have committed a crime.”
But Adams’ office quickly walked back his comments after the New York Post reported on them.
“Let me be very clear, I am not opening the door to civil immigration enforcement with the federal government,” he said in a statement to the Post. “I believe the federal government should pursue dangerous criminals, including undocumented individuals, as our city’s local laws have long stated only through criminal enforcement actions.”
‘Some other things’
Homan said the mayor had committed to “some other things” in their meeting that he did not want to disclose because the City Council would be “putting roadblocks upon us.” He added that they are looking at ways to “word around” the council to change the city’s sanctuary laws.
“I’ve got to be very careful because the City Council, they hate me, right?” Homan said. “The City Council, they don’t want immigration enforcement in this city.”
Like many of Adams’ actions this week, the interview invited almost immediate backlash from fellow city pols.
City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, a long-time Adams critic, called the mayor’s appearance on Fox an “historic public humiliation” for the city.
“It is clear as day: the mayor is compromised. He has chosen self-preservation over the safety of New Yorkers,” Cabán said. “Our city should be a safe haven for our neighbors, not a political playground for Trump’s cronies. We cannot allow Trump and his lackeys to install themselves in our city’s halls of power.”
Cabán called for the mayor to either resign or for Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove him from office.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos expressed a similar sentiment in a Friday social media post, calling the interview “humiliating for us all.”
“I said Eric Adams was Trump’s puppet last night, but not even I thought the administration would literally threaten to be ‘up his butt’ if he didn’t do their bidding,” Ramos wrote. “Gov. Hochul must remove him from office.”
