A state judge on Monday blocked New York City Mayor Eric Adams from allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to open offices at the Rikers Island jail facilities.
The ruling creates another obstacle for the Trump administration, which sought to work with Adams to detain illegal immigrants in the facility.
From NBC News:
In a written order Monday, Judge Mary Rosado barred the city from “taking any steps toward negotiating, signing, or implementing any Memorandum of Understanding with the federal government” before an April 25 hearing in a suit challenging the plan.
That hearing will focus on a lawsuit brought last week by the New York City Council against Mayor Eric Adams that seeks to block his recent executive order permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to maintain office space at the jail complex.
The suit accuses Adams, a Democrat, of entering into a “corrupt quid pro quo bargain” with the Trump administration in exchange for the Justice Department dropping criminal charges against him.
Adams has repeatedly denied making any deal with the administration over the criminal case. He has said the presence of ICE and other federal agencies within the jail complex will allow them to assist in gang and drug-related investigations but that they would have no role in civil immigration enforcement.
Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed the indictment against Adams after the Justice Department decided against pursuing the case.
Judge Dale Ho in the Southern District of New York granted the DOJ’s request to dismiss the case, but did so with prejudice. This means the Justice Department will not be able to bring the indictment against Adams again.
The DOJ’s original motion was to dismiss Adams’ case without prejudice, which meant the agency would have been able to charge the mayor in the future if they decided to reverse course. However, Judge Ho decided against this in his ruling, noting that another indictment “would interfere with the Mayor’s ability to govern, thereby threatening ‘federal immigration initiatives and policies.’”
🚨 BREAKING: A judge has now BLOCKED New York City Mayor Eric Adams from allowing ICE back onto Rikers Island - NYP
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 22, 2025
You gotta be KIDDING. Judges will block Trump, a Republican, AND Adams, a Democrat.
Judge Mary Rosado made the decision.
Literally ANYTHING to protect aliens. pic.twitter.com/iIaYGyGV8q
New York’s government banned ICE from occupying its jails in 2014 after it passed sanctuary laws aimed at preventing local and state law enforcement from working with the agency to deport illegal immigrants. However, Adams signaled that he would be willing to cooperate with the White House as his administration continues to deal with the influx of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants that flooded into the city under the Biden administration.
Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro issued an executive order allowing ICE and other federal agencies to open offices at Rikers. But their activities would have been limited to investigations. Still, Democrats asserted that it would make it easier for the agency to deport detainees.