A slew of elected officials and advocacy groups rallied in Lower Manhattan on Sunday against Mayor Eric Adams and an apparent City Hall directive permitting ICE agents to enter public schools and hospitals in pursuit of undocumented immigrants.
Senators, assembly members, and City Council members joined the Working Families Party, New York Immigration Coalition, and Make the Road Action outside of the Tweed Courthouse, located at 52 Chambers St., in the shadow of City Hall, on Feb. 9 to denounce what they described as a betrayal of the Big Apple’s ideals.
The protest occurred after reports surfaced last week of a Jan. 13 Adams administration memo directing workers at city schools, hospitals and shelters to allow federal agents access to these locations, a directive that alarmed immigrant advocates and those potentially at-risk of deportation.
Traditionally, these sites have been protected by New York’s sanctuary city laws, something which advocates accused Mayor Adams of attempting to undermine. The mayor has repeatedly said that while he wants to expel immigrants who “commit” violent offenses, he will uphold the city’s sanctuary laws, designed to protect those who are not convicted of a crime.
Still, the criticisms came hard and fast on Sunday, with some advocates accusing Adams of cozying up to the Trump White House for his own personal gain his own legal trouble.
“Eric Adams sent a guidance to city workers, encouraging them to give away the power that the law has granted them. He has told city workers that if they feel intimidated by an ice officer, they should open the doors of our schools, of our hospitals,” Co-Director of the New York Working Families Party Ana María Archila said. “The mayor has betrayed immigrant families. The mayor has betrayed all New Yorkers.”
The attendees included two candidates challenging Adams in this June’s mayoral primary: Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani and Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie. Also speaking out was Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who went as far as to alleged that the mayor had been “compromised,” and that he ought to “shut up” about immigration issues.
“You only need one of your five senses to see that this mayor is compromised in his decision-making. We also know now, and I’ve said this before, that we have an assistant to Donald Trump, not a mayor of New York City, and that’s the problem,” Williams said. “He’s either been quiet or worse, making it harder for the rest of us to do the job that he is supposed to be doing. Please, at least stay quiet, shut up!”
Mothers and fathers hand-in-hand with children and brandishing scenes also railed against the City Hall ICE directive, as did doctors like Laura Boylan, a physician working at Bellevue Hospital. She shared her fears that the memo will not only put both staff and patients at risk but will also embolden ICE to perform intimidation tactics in order to gain access to the facilities.
“Health care heroes are now expected to allow indiscriminate hospital access if we feel bullied, and we are being bullied — we are being pre-bullied. We have to fight that back, and Adams cannot be facilitating the musk Trump agenda here in New York,” Boylan said.
Adams admin responds
Despite the fury unleashed Sunday, City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus rebutted the criticisms, saying they were rooted in misinformation.
“Let’s be very clear: anyone perpetuating the claim that New York City is instructing city employees to simply open doors for federal law enforcement, including ICE, is spreading misinformation that only fuels anxiety within immigrant communities and our city’s workforce,” Mamelak Altus said in a statement.
The spokesperson explained that the Jan. 13 memo “outlines a series of steps for city workers on how to respond to non-local law enforcement attempting to enter city property,” such as “asking for an agent’s credentials, asking for a warrant, and contacting the agency’s general counsel.” Mamelak Altus further stated that city agencies had gamed out a number of scenarios in planning appropriate responses, such as if law enforcement were looking for a wanted, violent criminal.
“This is a rapidly evolving situation, and, as a result, we are in the process of finalizing further guidance for city workers to follow if they encounter federal law enforcement attempting to enter a building,” she added. “The safety of our employees is equally paramount as the safety of those in our care, which is precisely why we want to make it clear that city employees should not put themselves or those in our care in harm’s way by interfering with law enforcement if they persist.”
With reporting by Ethan Stark-Miller
