NYC Mayor Adams meets with Trump border czar: 'We have the same desire' to go after illegal migrant criminals

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he and incoming border czar Tom Homan have the same desire to go after illegal immigrant criminals following a Thursday meeting between the pair. 

Adams met with Homan to discuss cooperation between local and federal authorities on deporting violent criminals once the Trump administration takes office on Jan. 20.

"We're not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants and longstanding New Yorkers," Adams said after the meeting. "From what I heard from the incoming head of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is that we have the same desire to go after those who are committing violent acts, repeated violent acts among innocent New Yorkers and among migration asylum seekers. That's what I heard from him. And I was pleased to hear that, because we share the same desire."

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The mayor noted that the city doesn't allow itself to be a safe haven for American citizens committing crimes, "and we're not going to do it for those who are undocumented."

The meeting came as Homan plans to implement President-elect Trump's mass deportation plan once he takes office. 

Homan has warned leaders in sanctuary cities to either cooperate with immigration authorities or step aside. Earlier this week, Adams announced the closing of dozens of migrant shelters as the "sanctuary" city continues to see a drop in arrivals.

In total, 25 shelters are being closed in the next few months. New York has seen more than 225,000 migrants arrive since 2022. The surge coincided with a spike at the southern border, compounded by a strategy by Texas to bus migrants to sanctuary cities to relieve pressure on the border state.

Even before Thursday's meeting between Adams and Homan, immigration activists accused the mayor of "collaborating" with the new administration. 

"It’s despicable that Mayor Adams continues to shirk his responsibilities to uphold New York City’s existing policies and values as a sanctuary city by collaborating with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan," Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement.

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Adams has been deeply critical of the federal government's handling of the migrant crisis and has taken a tougher stance on illegal immigration than many of his Democratic contemporaries, who have vowed to resist the incoming Trump administration's plan to deport illegal migrants. 

Currently, there are 170 crimes that allow New York officials to communicate and collaborate with ICE after a migrant is convicted of a crime, said Adams. 

"We need to examine them and see what is my authority, using executive orders, to ensure that I keep New Yorkers safe. That's my only goal. I cannot make any clearer. In pursuing that goal, my years and years of advocating for immigrants that are here and attempting to find the American dream, if that demonizes me, then I'm going to take it. But I'm going to save lives in this city," he said. 

The mayor criticized those he said have attempted to cast him as switching his position on illegal immigration. 

"People are trying to push their own agenda. I have one agenda. I've never lied about the agenda," he said. "Everybody, everyone in this city should be protected and should not be the victims of violent crimes. And that was a conversation I had with the incoming border czar. We shared that same belief, and we're going to pursue that same belief."

Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw contributed to this report.