NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Mayor Eric Adams told 1010 WINS on Friday that he has a meeting next week with President-elect Donald Trump’s new border czar on the migrant issue, saying New York City and the new administration should “work together to resolve this problem.”
Asked by WINS anchor Scott Stanford what his message for incoming border czar Tom Homan is ahead of their meeting next Thursday, Adams said: “Let’s work together.”
“We both are concerned about those who are committing violent acts of violence in our city and country, and we could work together to resolve this problem,” the mayor said.
“And I'm looking forward to sitting down and sharing some of my ideas on what we could do to secure our border and deal with real comprehensive immigration reform,” he said. “I look forward to that conversation.”
Trump has vowed a major crackdown on migrants when he takes office in January after making the issue a center point of his campaign.
At the Republican National Convention over the summer, Homan suggested he would begin mass deportations of the “millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden’s released in our country.”
Roughly 225,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022, according to City Hall.
Homan told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo this week that he looks forward to meeting with Adams, with nearly 60,000 undocumented immigrants reportedly wanted for deportation in the city. “I’m looking for partnerships. I’m not looking for enemies,” Homan told Cuomo.
While the issue has remained a hot topic, city officials have said recently that the number of asylum seekers arriving in the city has slowed—a reduction they've attributed to various measures, including 30-day and 60-day shelter limits on some migrants. In October, the city announced it plans to close its largest migrant center, on Randall’s Island, in February 2025.
While the City Council has shot down plans to repeal de Blasio–era "sanctuary city" laws, Adams suggested earlier this week he’s open to deporting some migrants in the city who’ve been charged with crimes. He said he wants to see what the border czar’s plans are for handling that issue.
“My position is people commit crimes in our city, you have abdicated your right to be in our city,” Adams said Tuesday during his weekly Q&A with reporters.
“I'm open to figure out the best way to address that,” he added. “My goal is to always give people due process. But my goal is to sit down and hear what the plans are on the current administration to address this issue.”
Adams went on to give a couple of examples: “You got a guy, he's on camera shooting at, shooting a police officer. I don't want that guy in my city. You know, plain and simple. You got a guy that rapes one young lady, gets out, and go rape another person. I don't want them in the city.”
In his interview with WINS, Adams also discussed the passage of his “City of Yes” housing plan that aims to add 80,000 new housing units, as well as the latest on the NYPD's manhunt for the killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO and New York City designation as “the top destination in the world.” Listen to the full interview above.