The New York City Council is suing Mayor Eric Adams over an executive order signed last week that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to operate out of an office on Rikers Island.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan State Supreme Court Tuesday, attorneys for the council argue Adams violated two provisions of the city’s Conflict of Interest law that prevent public officials from deriving personal benefits from their position. Referencing the Justice Department’s own assertions, the lawsuit argues Adams succeeded in getting federal corruption charges against him dropped in exchange for assistance with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement priorities, including allowing ICE to operate on Rikers Island again.
“Today, in New York City a corrupt bargain is taking place in plain view: New York City Mayor Eric Adams, acting through his first deputy mayor, is using his official powers to pay off the Trump Administration for dropping criminal charges against him,” the lawsuit reads. “The “purchase price” — which was agreed to in advance and is now being proffered — is the safety and wellbeing of immigrant communities and all New Yorkers whose rights are protected by our City’s prized sanctuary laws.”
The lawsuit also questions whether First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, who signed the executive order, had legal authority to do so. Signing executive orders is a power that the city charter assigns to the mayor exclusively. Adams had said he delegated the decision about federal immigration enforcement to Mastro to “maintain the trust” of New Yorkers.
Adams has repeatedly denied there was a quid pro quo with the Trump administration, and began sowing doubt about some of the city’s sanctuary protections months before he was indicted by the Justice Department. Last week, Mastro brushed off the possibility of a potential legal challenge by the council, insisting the mayor was within his authority to allow ICE to set up an office on Rikers Island under New York’s sanctuary city law as long as the agency’s work does not pertain to civil immigration enforcement.
Mastro and Adams argue they need to let federal agents back onto the island to clamp down on what Mastro called “violent transnational gangs” like MS-13 and Tren del Aragua, recently designated terrorist organizations by President Donald Trump.
“While we will review the lawsuit, this one seems baseless and contrary to the public interest in protecting New Yorkers from violent criminals,” said Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for Adams. “We remain committed to our administration’s efforts to reduce crime and keep New Yorkers safe — we hope the City Council will join us in doing so.”
Demonstrators rally outside City Hall against Mayor Eric Adams’ executive order allowing ICE and other federal agencies back onto Rikers Island, April 10, 2025. Credit: Gwynne Hogan/THE CITY
Mamelak said the memorandum of understanding between the city and federal agencies that seek to operate out of Rikers Island has not been finalized.
The 2014 law that booted ICE from Rikers Island, and also barred the NYPD and the Department of Correction from honoring most requests to hold detainees on their behalf, did allow the mayor the power to reestablish an outpost on Rikers Island with an executive order like the one signed by Mastro last week, as long as they weren’t conducting civil immigration enforcement there.
But the council’s lawsuit argues that in the current political climate there’s no way for the city to assure civil enforcement would not occur, especially given the fact the Trump administration has deputized multiple federal agencies to conduct immigration enforcement operations. It points to mounting concerns about erroneous removals from the U.S. like that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is now trapped in an El Salvador prison.
“To assume, then, that federal agents from these agencies would limit themselves to criminal investigatory work if permitted on Rikers is willfully blind,” the lawsuit reads.
It also raises concerns about information sharing from the Department of Correction with federal agencies that might later be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The bell cannot be unrung and federal agents will be able to use that information beyond its intended purpose, including for civil immigration enforcement,” the lawsuit reads.
Last week, the council approved a resolution to allow Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to sue the mayor over the city’s sanctuary laws, a prerequisite for any lawsuit brought by the council. The resolution also allows the council to sue President Donald Trump in defense of the city’s sanctuary laws, though Tuesday’s lawsuit only named Mayor Eric Adams, First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro and the Department of Correction.
Trump has threatened to cut all funding from sanctuary cities like New York City and has already clawed back millions in funding that went to reimburse New York City for its spending on the migrant crisis.
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