Overview

• The Department of Justice filed its complaint in the Eastern District of New York on July 24, naming the city, Mayor Adams and several city officials and arguing that New York’s sanctuary statutes unlawfully obstruct federal immigration enforcement under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
• Attorney General Pam Bondi asserted that the policies have released dangerous individuals by barring local agencies from honoring ICE detainers without judicial warrants and have put public safety at risk.
• Adams pledged to review the lawsuit and asked the General Services Administration to inspect the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza after the New York Immigration Coalition released footage showing cramped cells and makeshift bedding.
• Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Comptroller Brad Lander have urged the city’s Buildings and Fire Departments to examine the federal facility despite the departments’ acknowledgment that they lack jurisdiction over federal properties.
• The Department of Homeland Security insists the site is only a short-term processing center, has denied congressional and local inspection requests, and maintains that claims of overcrowding and substandard conditions are false.