Trump condemned for ‘frivolous, reckless’ lawsuit against NYC’s sanctuary laws

(CMC):

Caribbean immigration advocates have condemned what they describe as United States (US) President Donald Trump’s “frivolous and reckless” lawsuit against New York City’s (NYC) sanctuary laws.

The city’s sanctuary laws limit cooperation between local agencies and US federal immigration enforcement, particularly the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

These laws, largely in place since the 1980s, seek to protect undocumented Caribbean and other immigrants by prohibiting New York City officials from sharing information about them with ICE unless there is a warrant or they are suspected of a serious crime.

On Thursday, Trump’s Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York challenging New York City’s sanctuary policies.

The basis of the 37-page lawsuit is that New York’s local policies are “impeding the consultation and communication between federal and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for the United States to enforce the law and keep Americans safe”.

However, Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that “immigrants have built and rebuilt New York City and this nation for centuries, and our local government has correctly welcomed and embraced them as essential members of our New York community”.

“Our local laws are designed to protect the public safety of every single New Yorker,” said Awawdeh, whose organisation is an umbrella policy and advocacy organisation that represents more than 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York.

“When local police focus on protecting our neighbourhoods rather than carrying out the federal government’s mass disappearance agenda, every New Yorker can feel secure enough to report crimes, access emergency services, and cooperate with investigations without fear of deportation.

“Unfortunately, Donald Trump thinks that he and he alone can decide our country’s local laws – undermining the 10th amendment,” he said, adding that the lawsuit is frivolous at best, and an attack on New York’s ability to govern itself at worst.

“New York must reject Trump’s continued assaults to its constitutional right to pass local laws that serve our communities best. Mayor (Eric) Adams must fight back against this federal overreach and defend the well-being of all New Yorkers,” Awawdeh said, noting recent incidents in New York City that he said “have fuelled fear-mongering and baseless attacks on sanctuary city policies”.

Uphold fundamental values

Civil rights and immigration lead organiser of Make the Road New York, Luba Cortés, said the city’s Sanctuary Laws “keep New York families together and uphold the fundamental values our city was built on”.

“These laws are legal, and they help protect all New Yorkers. They are also based on clear and well-established laws allowing cities to refuse to use our city’s resources to collaborate with ICE in snatching and kidnapping our people off the streets,” she told CMC.

“In the face of Trump’s callous and dangerous mass deportation agenda, New York must uphold and defend its sanctuary laws. We will defend them in the courts and the streets.”

Adams, whose corruption charges were dropped by the Trump administration in order to assist with the president’s mass deportation agenda, is among the defendants in Trump’s lawsuit.

A spokesperson for the mayor said City Hall will review the lawsuit.

The US Justice Department said in a statement that it filed the lawsuit against New York City, Adams, and several other city officials “to challenge New York’s sanctuary city laws”.

“As detailed in the complaint, New York’s sanctuary policies have allowed dangerous criminals to roam the streets and commit heinous crimes within the community,” it said. “These policies reflect an intentional effort to obstruct federal law enforcement and thus are pre-empted under the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution.”

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said that “New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies”.

“If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will,” she vowed.

Assistant US Attorney General, Brett Shumate also said that, for too long, New York City has been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing our immigration laws.

“Its efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement end now,” he added.

However, the New York City Council, which has often accused Adams of colluding with ICE and Trump in their deportation efforts, said, through spokesman Rendy Desamours, that “Pam Bondi may want to distract from reality, but the facts are clear: The evidence consistently shows that cities with sanctuary laws are safer than those without them”.