(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing backlash for directing school administrators to allow ICE agents into schools during immigration crackdowns, despite the city’s long-standing ‘sanctuary’ policies.
A recent memo sent by the Adams administration to schools and other state agencies directs employees to ask officers for their name and badge number, a warrant or subpoena, and then call the agency’s counsel. The memo adds that if a city worker “reasonably feels threatened or fear for your safety,” they “should give the officer the information they have asked for or let them enter the site.”
The memo was issued in response to the Trump administration’s policy authorizing two key federal immigration agencies — Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — to arrest migrants at ‘sensitive’ locations like schools and churches.
But immigrant rights advocates and other New York City leaders blasted the memo and accused Adams, a Democrat, of collaborating with the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans despite a city ‘sanctuary’ policy restricting cooperation with federal immigration crackdowns.
“While the Trump administration is weaponizing our government and ICE to separate families, Eric Adams is turning his back on immigrant New Yorkers to score points with the Trump administration and pursue his agenda to end legal challenges on corruption charges,” Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement.
“This shameful action is turning what should be safe havens for all New York families into potential traps and making New York City complicit in carrying out Trump’s cruel agenda,” she said.
New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams also criticized the memo, calling it “highly irresponsible, confusing, and dangerous to New Yorkers and our workforce.”
“This represents a betrayal of New Yorkers and our city,” Adams said in a joint statement with other councilors. “We call on the mayoral administration to rescind the problematic areas of this new guidance and instead provide clear direction that is in compliance with local laws and consistent with city policies.”
Amid the backlash, a City Hall spokesperson issued a statement clarifying that the memo was meant to provide school administrators with guidance about how to respond if ICE seeks to access a school, including situations where law enforcement are “in pursuit of a violent criminal.” The statement said the city isn’t instructing school officials or other workers to cooperate with ICE raids.
“This is a rapidly evolving situation, and, as a result, we are in the process of finalizing further guidance for city workers to follow,” the spokesperson said. “The safety of our employees is equally paramount as the safety of those in our care, which is precisely why we want to make it clear that city employees should not put themselves or those in our care in harm’s way by interfering with law enforcement if they persist.”
Over the weekend, New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos sought to assuage fears among parents by posting a video online urging immigrant families not to keep their children home from school.
“Our policies have not changed. As always, non-local law enforcement is not permitted in any of our school buildings without a judicial warrant or unless there are exigent circumstances,” Aviles-Ramos said. “We encourage all parents to have their students continue to attend school.”
