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New York City is poised to prohibit ICE from conducting operations at any of its 19 correctional facilities, including the well-known Rikers Island.
The Safer Sanctuary Act, anticipated to be signed into law soon by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, broadens restrictions on city officials’ collaboration with federal agents during immigration enforcement efforts. Presently, the city’s sanctuary status primarily limits cooperation with ICE.
Originally proposed by Tiffany Caban, a socialist councilmember from Astoria, the bill was introduced last year and successfully passed through the City Council in December. However, it faced a veto from then-Mayor Eric Adams on his last day in office.
Adams had attempted to reestablish an ICE office at Rikers via a controversial executive order, which was ultimately nullified in September by a Manhattan judge. The judge determined that Adams’ actions were politically motivated, intended to gain favor with the Trump administration after they dropped criminal charges against him.
In a decisive move, the City Council voted 44 to 7 to override Adams’s veto on Thursday, setting the stage for a potential confrontation with the Trump Administration.
The Democratic Socialists of America, who orchestrated with Caban to craft and introduce the bill, celebrated during a member meeting that evening.
“We’re super excited,” boasted a DSA leader who only introduced herself as Rachel, who said she worked with Caban and NABE? Councilmember Alexa Aviles to set their “legislative priorities.”
“What it does is respond to the current way that Trump is weaponizing ICE,” she said.
“It’s not just collaborating with ICE that is off the table for city agencies, but it’s collaborating with any of the federal agencies that Trump is kind of deputizing and weaponizing to do immigration enforcement,” she said, referring to the raid last year that saw the FBI and other federal agencies descend on Canal Street to crack down on illegal street vendors and migrants.
This comes the same week as Gov. Kathy Hochul proposing a state version of the bill Friday that aims to end existing agreements between local and federal law enforcement.