Fear grows among NYC migrants as Mayor Adams vows to work with Trump on immigration issues

Donald Trump’s presidential predetermination victory near immigrants successful New York City connected borderline Wednesday arsenic they fearfulness what volition travel of his pledge to motorboat “mass deportations” erstwhile helium takes bureau aboriginal adjacent year.

In an day briefing astatine City Hall, Mayor Adams did small to allay those fears, arsenic helium pledged to enactment with Trump connected migration issues and said his engagement with the incoming president’s squad volition beryllium astir processing “a realistic and compassionate” strategy connected the national level.

Adams wouldn’t connection immoderate details connected what that volition look similar oregon specify immoderate caller actions his medication volition instrumentality to support the much than 500,000 undocumented immigrants who reside successful New York City. Additionally, Adams declined to accidental whether his medication volition cooperate successful immoderate “mass deportation” proceedings launched by the national authorities erstwhile the adjacent president is sworn successful connected Jan. 20.

Speaking successful Spanish, Manuel Castro, Adams’ migrant affairs commissioner, who utilized to beryllium undocumented and gained ineligible presumption successful the U.S. acknowledgment to erstwhile President Barack Obama’s “Dreamer” program, said aboriginal that the metropolis volition not “be pursuing the instructions of the national authorities successful cases of wide deportations.”

But Castro acknowledged Adams’ squad has thing successful the pipeline to counteract Trump’s deportation effort too trying to speech his incoming medication retired of it.

“We volition hopefully amended the medication and everyone who volition perceive america however this is resource-heavy — putting radical successful camps, rounding them up successful wide deportations — it volition interaction section economies, not conscionable New York City, and hopefully alteration their minds astir this,” Castro told reporters.

The messaging from City Hall didn’t assuage Carla Quintana’s anxiousness astir what volition hap erstwhile Trump returns to the White House.

Republican statesmanlike nominee erstwhile President Donald Trump arrives astatine an predetermination nighttime ticker enactment astatine the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, successful West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Quintana, a Venezuelan migrant who lives astatine the city’s Roosevelt Hotel shelter successful Manhattan with her husband, six kids, a son-in-law and a grandchild, said she’s terrified of the imaginable of Trump trying to deport her and others successful akin positions.

“That’s the fearfulness of each of america here,” said Quintana, 39, who arrived successful New York past December. “We’re mostly parents with children here. We came present to strive for their well-being, for their future.”

Repeatedly connected the run trail, Trump said if helium were reelected helium would marque it a Day 1 precedence to motorboat a sweeping wide deportation effort that would impact respective national entities removing arsenic galore arsenic 1 cardinal immigrants from the U.S. each year, careless of whether they’ve committed immoderate crimes too illegally residing successful the country.

He has said the U.S. subject whitethorn enactment successful the effort and pledged to pat centuries-old national laws to unit alleged sanctuary jurisdictions to cooperate successful the effort.

New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director Murad Awawdeh said helium has heard from scores of migrants and undocumented individuals surviving successful the metropolis who person experienced “a existent consciousness of fear” successful the hours since Trump’s predetermination triumph was called overnight Wednesday.

“Any idiosyncratic who has been pursuing this predetermination would cognize that Trump’s migration level is wide deportations, which would wounded astir 1 cardinal New York City residents who unrecorded successful mixed-status families,” said Awawdeh. “I don’t cognize wherefore the politician would suggest to enactment with idiosyncratic who wants to harm our metropolis and our full mode of life.”

Also Wednesday, Gov. Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James announced an “Empire State Freedom Initiative” with a extremity of processing ways to support the rights of susceptible populations successful New York, including immigrants. James, who earlier this twelvemonth secured a $450 cardinal civilian fraud judgement against Trump implicit his concern practices successful New York, said she volition proceed to “fight back” against him.

“I volition not shrink from that work … We cognize their playbook,” James said.

Adams connected Wednesday reiterated his petition for the national authorities to supply expedited enactment permits for asylum seekers and faulted President Biden’s medication for not giving the metropolis much assistance amid an influx of tens of thousands of mostly Latin American migrants since outpouring 2022.

Hundreds of migrants are seen sleeping extracurricular the Roosevelt Hotel successful Midtown Manhattan, July 31, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)

“Our city’s bottommost enactment was affected erstwhile 220,000 migrants and asylum seekers were placed successful the metropolis without immoderate national assistance,” Adams said.

The feds have, successful fact, provided much $150 cardinal successful nonstop migrant aid to Adams’ medication nether Biden.

Adams’ narration with Biden soured past twelvemonth arsenic helium aggressively criticized the president’s handling of the migrant crisis. Trump has without grounds claimed Adams’ migrant-related disapproval of Biden prompted Justice Department prosecutors to indict him successful precocious September connected corruption charges — comments the politician hasn’t disavowed.

New York City is by instrumentality a sanctuary jurisdiction, meaning section authorities, including the NYPD, are constricted successful however they tin cooperate with national migration officials.

In Wednesday’s property conference, Adams said his medication volition “abide” by the sanctuary rules nether Trump, but besides reiterated his past statement that the laws connected the books needlessly forestall the feds from providing the metropolis with “support.”

Earlier this year, Adams specified helium wants to easiness the restrictions truthful immigrants accused of crimes — not conscionable those convicted of them — tin beryllium turned implicit to national authorities for deportation, a connection the City Council changeable down. Under Adams, employees successful metropolis instrumentality enforcement agencies person been accused of violating sanctuary instrumentality restrictions by communicating with national migration authorities.

Candice Braun, a migrant advocator who helps supply services for newly-arrived asylum seekers successful the city, said she wishes Adams would affirm much intelligibly that the city’s going to comply with sanctuary rules amid Trump’s menace of wide deportations.

“I deliberation that it would beryllium bully for the politician and metropolis authorities to reaffirm oregon marque immoderate benignant of nationalist connection of sanctuary status,” said Braun. “I deliberation that would spell far.”

Originally Published: November 6, 2024 astatine 5:16 PM EST