Share and Follow
The New York City Council has taken legal action against the Adams administration for authorizing the return of federal immigration officials to Rikers Island. They criticize the move as being a result of a controversial deal made between the Mayor and the previous Trump administration, referring to it as “poisoned fruit”.
Filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday, the lawsuit contends that the executive order issued by First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro lacks validity since Adams did not formally delegate the authority to issue such a directive to his deputy.
“The Mayor’s attempted delegation of authority to issue Executive Order 50 is invalid,” the suit says.
“Violating the City Charter, the Mayor did not delegate a ‘specified’ duty to Mastro.”
Moreover, the lawsuit asserts that Mastro failed to conduct an independent assessment before allowing ICE to establish offices on Rikers. This action aligns with what Adams had previously assured border czar Tom Homan earlier this year, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit further alleges that the executive order was part of the “corrupt” quid pro quo made by Adams to get his criminal case dropped.
The Adams administration has repeatedly said the immigration agents will not conduct civil immigration enforcement and that no deal was made connected to the mayor’s prosecution, which was formally dropped last month.
However, critics have sounded the alarm, claiming ICE would ignore people’s due process regardless.
Sources told The Post that a draft of the order had been going around City Hall in the weeks before Mastro took the job. However, the details of the draft were not known.
Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Kaz Daughtry was also on the island weeks ago scouting the jail for space, law enforcement sources said.