September 9, 2025
New York — Today the ICE Out! NYC Coalition, the Shut Rikers campaign, The New York City Anti-Violence Project and allies applauded Judge Rosado’s court order in New York Supreme Court striking down Mayor Adams’s attack on sanctuary, Executive Order 50.
In April, the Adams administration made good on the Mayor’s threat to return ICE to operate on Rikers Island by entering an executive order establishing federal law enforcement space at Rikers, including for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This came after multiple meetings between the Mayor and Tom Homan, the “border czar” charged with carrying out Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Rikers Island has a long and documented history of violence, abuse, and mismanagement. Under Mayor Adams, the conditions at Rikers have worsened, and at least 45 people have died in NYC jails. In the last two weeks, three incarcerated people have died at Rikers. Instead of cozying up to Trump and attacking immigrants, the Mayor of the City of New York should be working to protect immigrants and shut down Rikers once and for all.
We are grateful for the leadership and action of our City Council and the Speaker, who stood up for our values as a city and stood against the Mayor’s plan to give ICE free rein to separate New Yorkers from their loved ones. To roll back the clock a decade would have fueled an unprecedented abuse of power against New Yorkers – especially Black, Latinx, other immigrants of color, and the LGBTQ community – at the same time that the violence, abuse and mismanagement at Rikers worsens daily.
We came together across sectors to make it clear that we stand with our city’s historic sanctuary laws and that New York City must never collude in the federal mass deportation agenda. Instead we must stand up for our immigrant neighbors and focus on action that ensures that all New Yorkers can thrive.
“This decision is a victory that we should never have had to win in the first place. Allowing ICE presence at Rikers would have opened the doors to further terrorizing immigrant New Yorkers and encouraged the current administration’s mass deportation plans,” said Natalia Aristizabal, Deputy Director at Make the Road New York. “We applaud the NYS Supreme Court’s decision to stand with immigrant New Yorkers in this critical moment. We also commend the Speaker, the City Council, and Public Advocate for their strong leadership against the Mayor’s attempt to circumvent the law, potentially putting thousands of people at risk and instilling more fear in our communities. We will continue to fight to prevent our communities from being criminalized and placed in deportation proceedings in New York, and shut down Rikers once and for all.”
“This ruling is a critical victory for all New Yorkers and a rejection of the federal government’s mass deportation agenda, and of the Adams administration’s unlawful and dangerous Executive Order 50,” said Meghna Philip, Director of the Special Litigation Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “The Executive Order was a clear violation of New York City’s sanctuary protections and would have opened the door to racial profiling, wrongful deportations, and constitutional violations by ICE on Rikers Island. The court’s decision ensures that ICE stays out of New York City jails and that our sanctuary city laws are upheld.”
“With this ruling, the court shut the door on this politically motivated and entirely baseless attempt to strengthen the arrest-to-deportation pipeline in New York City,” said Rosa Cohen-Cruz, Director of Immigration Policy at The Bronx Defenders. “We commend the Speaker, New York City Council, and the Public Advocate for swiftly and courageously standing up for our sanctuary policies, which have kept New Yorkers safe and advanced justice for all.”
“Early this year, Mayor Adams sold out immigrant New Yorkers by attempting to allow ICE to reopen an office at Rikers Island, in a quid pro quo with President Trump to get his corruption charges dropped. This was a shameless attempt to help the Trump Administration carry out its mass criminalization and deportation agenda for the mayor’s selfish benefits,” said Melanie Dominguez, organizing director for the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. “Yesterday, Justice Mary V. Rosado ruled that the Mayor’s Executive Order to allow immigration authorities into Rikers Island presented a conflict of interest and was outright illegal. We hail this ruling; instead of working with ICE to further criminalize immigrants, the Mayor should be working to shut down the deadly jail complex and protect all New Yorkers.”
“The Mayor’s attempt to bring ICE back to Rikers Island has failed. By declaring the Mayoral Administration’s executive order to re-open an ICE office at Rikers ‘null and void,’ the NYS Supreme Court has offered a vital degree of protection for our immigrant neighbors. Thousands of New Yorkers will no longer face the prospect of detention and deportation because they were sent to Rikers after being simply accused – not convicted – of a crime. New York City must never collude with the Federal Administration’s mass deportation agenda, and our Mayor should be ensuring that every New Yorker has their due process rights protected. We commend the NYS Supreme Court, Speaker Adrienne Adams, City Council and the people of New York for continuing to stand up for our immigrant neighbors,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition.
“We applaud the court for striking down the Mayor’s attack on sanctuary, which sought to return ICE to Rikers Island and give them free reign to target New Yorkers, and we are grateful for the leadership of our City Council and the Speaker who stood up for our values as a city,” said Yasmine Farhang, Executive Director of the Immigrant Defense Project. “To roll back the clock a decade would have fueled a severe abuse of power against New Yorkers – especially Black, Latinx and other immigrants of color – at the same time that the violence, abuse and mismanagement at Rikers worsens daily. Together we are clear and unequivocal: our city’s historic sanctuary laws ensure that the rights of New Yorkers are protected and that our city resources help all New Yorkers thrive.”
“We are thrilled by the victory striking down Mayor Adams’ attack on sanctuary policies, which sought to return ICE to Rikers Island. The City Council and the Speaker have upheld the values of New York City, standing firmly against the targeting of Black, Brown immigrants and other immigrants of color. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that conditions at Rikers Island continue to worsen. As a native New Yorker with immigrant roots, we believe that freedom in New York means everyone should feel safe, regardless of where they were born,” said Janay Cauthen, Executive Director of Families for Freedom.
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The mission of the ICE Out! NYC Coalition is to stop the pipeline to deportation in New York City by passing and strengthening legislation and policies that restrict the City from colluding with ICE and from using our own city resources to funnel people to detention and deportation. Current steering committee members include: Immigrant Defense Project, Bronx Defenders, Families for Freedom, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the New York Immigration Coalition, Make the Road NY, Asian American Federation, New Yorkers for the Public Interest and Neighborhood Defender Services.
#ShutRikers is a campaign of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. Katal members, supporters, and allies are working to cut the correctional populations and the budgets used for caging people; shut down Rikers Island; and invest in real public safety: housing, health care, education, and jobs.
The New York City Anti-Violence Project empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-affected communities and allies to end all forms of violence through organizing and education, and supports survivors through counseling and advocacy. Today, AVP is the largest anti-LGBTQ violence organization in the country. We are deeply trusted within the LGBTQ communities and by survivors of violence, and we have earned that trust by showing up for our community day in and day out for over almost 40 years. The New York City Anti-Violence Project is the only LGBTQ+-focused rape crisis center in New York State. AVP operates a 24/7 English/Spanish hotline for LGBTQ+ survivors of violence and offers free crisis counseling. If you need support, call AVP at 212-714-1141 or visit avp.org/get-help.