The New York Supreme Court on Monday handed down a ruling barring Immigration and Customs Enforcement from reopening an office at Rikers Island.
The decision marks a blow to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who had attempted to sideline the Big Apple’s sanctuary policies by backing executive orders in February and April granting ICE access to the prison island, which holds the largest correctional facility in the state.
However, Judge Mary Rosado, who had temporarily blocked the mayor from allowing ICE to operate at the facility again earlier this year, declared Adams’s Executive Order 50 “null and void,” writing in her decision this week that the mayor’s act was an “impermissible appearance of a conflict of interest.”
Her statement comes amid accusations that Adams made a shady deal, described as “quid pro quo,” with the White House in which the Trump administration agreed to dismiss a corruption case against the mayor if he agreed to expand cooperation with ICE.
Adams has denied any allegations of impropriety, arguing that Trump’s Justice Department only dropped the case in February because the previous DOJ had weaponized the system against the mayor for political reasons due to his resistance to the Biden administration’s relaxed illegal immigration policies. After Adams first issued an executive order regarding ICE access to the Rikers facility in February, the mayor’s office directed his deputy in April to sign another executive order permitting federal immigration agents to open an office on the prison island, which he hoped would tamp down allegations of quid pro quo.
However, Rosado ruled that the move was insufficient.
“The argument that the conflict was cleansed by delegating to First Deputy Mayor [Randy] Mastro is farcical,” she wrote in her decision. “First Deputy Mayor Mastro is not independent of Mayor Adams.”
City Hall plans to appeal Rosado’s ruling, with Mastro saying that the mayor’s office “vehemently disagrees” with the judge’s decision.
“Let’s be clear: at no point does the judge dispute that the substance of our executive order fully complies with local law — that’s because it does,” he said. “There is also no actual conflict of interest here, and the mayor responded to the appearance of a conflict by delegating this issue to me as his first deputy mayor.”
“There is also no actual conflict of interest here, and the mayor responded to the appearance of a conflict by delegating this issue to me as his first deputy mayor — whom the judge herself described as an ‘accomplished and highly educated attorney’ — and I acted entirely independently of the mayor,” Mastro continued in his statement. “It is a shame that we can’t put politics aside and allow the executive branch to do its job of making New York City as safe as possible for the 8.5 million New Yorkers who call this city home.”
ERIC ADAMS EXPANDS COOPERATION WITH ICE, SIDELINES NYC SANCTUARY CITY PROTECTIONS
The New York City Council, which has criticized Adams’s cooperation with ICE due to claims of quid pro quo and concerns it violates the city’s sanctuary policies protecting those without legal status, issued its own statement Monday praising Rosado’s decision as a “major win.” The council sued the mayor over the order in April.
“Trump’s political agenda of using ICE to disappear residents without due process and separate families harms our communities and undermines our collective safety,” said New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, Criminal Justice Committee Chair Sandy Nurse, and Immigration Committee Chair Alexa Avilés. “We’re pleased that the court recognized Mayor Adams and Randy Mastro’s attempt to do Trump’s bidding and betray their obligation to New Yorkers as unlawful. This decision protects the civil rights of all New Yorkers from being violated and makes our city safer.”
