Justice Department targets NYC sanctuary policies in new federal lawsuit

The Justice Department is suing New York City over its sanctuary policies, as the Trump administration targets jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities as it continues to ramp up deportation raids. 

The lawsuit filed in a New York federal court names New York City Mayor Eric Adams and several other city officials as defendants. 

The lawsuit claims the city has enacted policies with the intent of impeding the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws. 

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“New York City has long been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing this country’s immigration laws,” the lawsuit states. “Its history as a sanctuary city dates back to 1989, and its efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement have only intensified since.”

The Justice Department cited New York’s policy that prohibits its Department of Corrections from honoring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers, which requests that federal immigration authorities be notified upon the release of a criminal illegal immigrant from jail. 

The New York Police Department was subject to a similar provision, the lawsuit states. In 2014, the city further resisted cooperation with ICE, including adding an amendment to its sanctuary city policy that immigration detainers would not be honored without a warrant issued by an Article III judge (or magistrate judge) and unless the subject of the detainer had been convicted of a “violent or serious” crime within the past five years or was a possible match on the federal terrorist watch list.

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The lawsuit said crimes committed by illegal immigrants in the city have prompted several city leaders to call for cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the federal government was left with no choice but to protect New Yorkers. 

“If New York’s leaders won’t step up to protect their citizens, we will,” she wrote on X. 

U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliatakis, R-N.Y., applauded the move, calling sanctuary polices “misguided,” “costly and dangerous.”

“Restoring public safety in our communities starts with New York City cooperating with ICE’s detainer requests. Failing to do so keeps dangerous criminals on our streets,” she wrote on X.

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The lawmaker said she filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that showed more 16,000 crimes were committed by thousands of people who were living in hotels and shelters at taxpayer expense. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Adams and the White House. 

In June, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles over its sanctuary policies. The city has become embroiled in a feud with the Trump administration over its deportation raids and anti-ICE protests.