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A duo of New York City Council members is reaching across the aisle to introduce a bill to end the sanctuary policies enacted under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Council members Robert Holden, a Democrat, and Joe Borelli, a Republican, plan to introduce legislation Thursday that would roll back the de Blasio-era policies and make it easier for the city’s law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, according to a report from the New York Post.
“Sanctuary city laws put all New Yorkers, both immigrants and longtime residents, in danger by preventing the NYPD and DOC from working with ICE,” Holden told the New York Post. “We do not need to import criminals, and only 23 years since 9/11, we have forgotten the deadly consequences of poor interagency communication. We must repeal these laws immediately.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie, File)
The bill, which is likely to face significant pushback from the city’s Democratic-majority council, would roll back restrictions that prohibit the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and Correction and Probation departments from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The bill would also reverse a rule that prohibits city agencies from partnering with ICE on matters of federal immigration law, the New York Post report said.
The bipartisan effort comes after several high-profile migrant crimes, including the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
Hundreds of asylum seekers line up outside the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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“Like most things in New York, sanctuary city policy is a social experiment gone off the rails,” Borelli told the New York Post. “All the problems with these local laws came out during the public-hearing process, but the Council just stepped harder on the gas pedal.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who took over for de Blasio, has in the past indicated an openness to loosening the city’s sanctuary policies, with the New York Post noting the mayor called for migrants that are “suspected” of “serious” crimes to be turned over to ICE.
Asylum seekers line up in front of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families in New York City. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Adams has yet to indicate whether he would support the new legislation. His office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
