NYC Mayor Adams Reverses Sanctuary Policy, Restores ICE Presence On Rikers Island

New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration on Tuesday reversed a decade-long sanctuary policy by allowing ICE to resume operations at Rikers Island jail to target criminal gangs and drug trafficking.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) previously had a presence on the detention island along with other federal law enforcement agencies, with Rikers frequently transferring illegal immigrants into federal custody for deportation.

However, ICE was evicted from the notorious island in 2014 by the city’s sanctuary city law, effectively prohibiting any cooperation between the prison and federal law enforcement in deporting criminal aliens.

The executive order, issued Tuesday, authorizes ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division to establish an office at Rikers to collaborate on targeting violent criminals, gangs, and drug trafficking, according to ABC News.

“It is critical that federal law enforcement agencies are able to share intelligence with the Department of Correction and NYPD in real-time about criminal gang activity among individuals both inside and outside of DOC custody,” the order states.

The order also extends office space to other federal agencies including the FBI, ATF, DEA, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Adams announced plans to allow ICE agents to resume operations at Rikers in February following a meeting with Trump border czar Tom Homan, according to ABC News.

https://t.co/94t0JBvxD6

Thank you Mayor Adams and Deputy Mayor Mastro! This is a great first step in our continuing collaboration to make NYC even safer as President Trump has committed to. Promises Made. Promises Kept.
~ Thomas D. Homan
U.S. Border Czar

— Thomas D. Homan (@RealTomHoman) April 9, 2025

“We cannot collaborate with ICE on civil enforcement, but we can for criminal enforcement. That is what we are doing,” Adams explained during a radio interview Wednesday. “That’s in complete conformity with the law.”

Adams’ decision marks a significant shift in how one of America’s largest sanctuary cities approaches collaboration with federal immigration enforcement, even as Rikers is still barred from cooperating with ICE in the realm of civil enforcement.

The Rikers Island jail complex, located on an isolated island in the East River, has long suffered from disorder and neglect and currently faces a possible federal takeover.

Under the new executive order, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division will focus specifically on transnational crime at the facility, working with city corrections officials on criminal investigations and “related intelligence sharing” efforts targeting violent criminals, gangs, crimes committed in jails, and drug trafficking.

First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, who issued the order, emphasized that this arrangement mirrors Rikers’ relationship with ICE that existed pre-2014.

“This is about public safety and protecting all New Yorkers,” Mastro said in a statement.

When questioned about the timing of this decision coming shortly after federal prosecutors dropped corruption charges against him, Mayor Adams firmly rejected any connection. “There is no beholdening,” he stated during a Wednesday radio interview with WINS.