Despite growing calls from local law enforcement and the mayor to roll back New York City’s sanctuary laws amid a slate of horrific migrant-related crime, liberal Democratic members of the city council ignored requests for comment on legislation that would do just that.
A bipartisan group of nine members on the New York City Council known as the Common Sense Caucus introduced legislation in June that, if enacted, would dial back several sanctuary city policies that prevent local police from working with federal immigration authorities. However, since that bill’s roll out, it has remained stagnant within City Hall with no expectations to move forward any time soon. (RELATED: ‘They Only Protect Criminals’: Colorado Communities Line Up To Sue Over Laws Protecting Illegal Immigrants)
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to every single member of the New York City Council not on the Common Sense Caucus — 42 members total — and asked if they supported the anti-sanctuary city bill or why they supported keeping the current sanctuary city laws in place. Not a single office provided comment.
The closest the DCNF got to receiving a statement was from Council Member Shahana Hanif’s office, whose staff sent over a link to an op-ed she co-authored with Councilmember Alexa Aviles. That op-ed faulted Mayor Eric Adams for wanting to modify the city’s sanctuary city laws and claimed such policies keep New Yorkers safe.
MASSAPEQUA, NEW YORK – MARCH 30: Mayor Eric Adams attends the funeral of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller at St. Rose of Lima R.C. Church on March 30, 2024 in Massapequa, New York. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
One co-sponsor of the anti-sanctuary city bill said local lawmakers must begin listening to voters and prioritize public safety.
“When so-called representatives ignore their constituents by refusing not only to put crucial issues like sanctuary city laws on the ballot but also to pass common-sense bills into law, it’s no wonder New Yorkers are fleeing in droves,” Council Member Robert Holden, a moderate Democrat and co-chair of the Common Sense Caucus, said to DCNF.
“Elected officials must stop with the social experiments and politically correct movements and start protecting and representing law-abiding citizens immediately,” he continued.
Calls for reforming the city’s sanctuary laws have been growing as New Yorkers continue to deal with an ongoing migrant crisis, with more than 200,000 migrants descending on the Big Apple since the spring of 2022, according to city officials. City taxpayers shelled out $1.45 billion on migrant services in fiscal year 2023 alone.
The wave of immigration into the city has resulted in a slate of high-profile crime incidents allegedly involving illegal migrants, such as when authorities confirmed that Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, a 19-year-old man from Venezuela accused of shooting two New York City Police Department cops in June, entered the country unlawfully.
The Big Apple’s sanctuary laws were further questioned when an illegal migrant from Ecuador was arrested in June for the “horrific” rape of a 13-year-old girl at knifepoint.
In another recent example, David Davon-Bonilla, a Nicaraguan national, was arrested in August for allegedly raping another woman at knifepoint. Davon-Bonilla had previously been arrested by local police for sexual assault, but was released from custody before his apprehension for rape.
Adams, in reaction to the Nicaraguan national’s criminal history, called him the “poster child” for what’s wrong with the city’s sanctuary laws. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell also called for change to allow more cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
An ICE agent monitors hundreds of asylum seekers being processed upon entering the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a bill in 2014 that largely prohibits the New York Police Department from working with federal immigration authorities, and the Democrat enacted legislation in 2018 that doubled down on this policy. While there is no official definition of “sanctuary city,” New York City is placed on the Center for Immigration Studies national list of sanctuary jurisdictions for its anti-ICE laws.
The bill put forward by the Common Sense Caucus earlier this year takes aim at the laws enacted under de Blasio. Sponsors of the bill emphasize that it would allow more cooperation between the NYPD and ICE only when it concerns criminal noncitizens, and would not pertain to noncitizen victims of crime.
“We’re not even saying change that,” Council Member Joseph Borelli, one of the very few Republicans serving on the New York City Council, said to the DCNF on how his bill would not put immigrant victims of crime at risk of deportation. “We’re saying when the perpetrator of the crime is the illegal person, at least cooperate with ICE and put them into the Immigration and Customs Enforcement judiciary system,” he continued.
Borelli said he and other opponents of the sanctuary policies laws attempted to reach out to Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the authority to temporarily waive local city laws in the state, but so far she has not responded to their outreach. The Common Sense Caucus’ hopes for reform were also crushed when a commission tasked with deciding what issues can be put on the November ballot, giving NYC voters direct authority, opted not to include a referendum on the city’s sanctuary laws.
The Republican lawmaker said he isn’t shocked that no other council members spoke on record about his proposal.
“The radio silence is unsurprising in that their own constituents are unhappy with the state of the migrant crisis in New York,” he said. “It’s gone beyond a few extra people in a homeless shelter to envelope our city, cause more crime, and take over our public spaces. It’s unavoidable at this point and progressive council members don’t want to admit that.”
Despite someone as powerful as the mayor voicing support for rolling back the city’s sanctuary laws, Borelli said he doesn’t see Adams having the leverage it would take to make a city council dominated by liberal Democrats change their position on the issue.
“Nothing is going to change by the end of the year,” he said. “Until we change the process of how we elect people in New York City, I don’t see it changing any time soon.”
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