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Mamdani mandates new policies to bolster NYC sanctuary laws for immigrants
By
Arya Sundaram
Published May 22, 2026
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TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images
By
Arya Sundaram
Published May 22, 2026
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has mandated over two dozen policy changes aimed at bolstering New York City's sanctuary laws protecting immigrants, including requiring city agencies to provide more training for workers and stepped-up reporting of interactions with federal immigration officials, according to a new city report.
The policy changes include requiring the city's child welfare agency to conduct an audit of its court reports, following concerns from outside attorneys that the reports improperly mention family members' immigration status.
Another change calls on the Department of Correction to stop sending daily reports to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about noncitizens in DOC custody who have been convicted of certain violent and serious crimes, "because this reporting is not required by federal, state or local law or regulation." City officials say the correction department has been sending such reports since about 2015.
An interagency committee, charged with responding to a further ramp-up in federal immigration enforcement and other contingencies, issued the policy recommendations as part of an audit mandated under an executive order Mamdani issued in February. The mayor has since accepted the recommendations, according to administration officials.
"The audit was a critical step towards strengthening compliance with our local laws and reinforcing New York City’s protections for immigrant communities," Mamdani said in a statement ahead of the findings' release on Friday.
He added that the audit results and policy changes would help "ensure that we are responding to the changing nature of federal immigration enforcement and protecting the rights of all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status.”
The recommendations come as the city has experienced a surge in ICE arrests since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. The agency arrested 5,567 immigrants in the New York City area between Jan. 20, 2025, and March 10, 2026, representing a 71% increase compared to the same period at the end of President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the report of the audit’s findings.
The Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs estimates roughly 412,000 undocumented immigrants lived in the city as of 2022.
The city’s sanctuary laws broadly prohibit the use of city personnel and resources for federal immigration enforcement. Police and jail officers are also generally prohibited from transferring detainees into ICE custody except for when the person has been convicted of a serious or violent crime and ICE has obtained a judicial warrant for their arrest.
State lawmakers have pursued similar policies this legislative session, barring local law enforcement agencies from entering into certain formal agreements with ICE and preventing local jails from contracting with ICE.
The report also comes amid a surge in interactions between city agencies and federal immigration authorities and in ICE officers visiting city shelters. ICE has also boosted its number of detainer requests to the NYPD and Department of Correction. Those are requests to hold detainees for transfer into ICE custody.
The Department of Correction received 895 detainers from ICE in 2025, up 120% from the year prior, according to the report. DOC complied with 24, or 2.7%, of the requests.
The NYPD received 3,672 such requests in fiscal year 2025, up from 99 in fiscal year 2024. The agency didn't comply with any of the requests, according to the report.
Other city agencies, which usually do not receive requests from ICE, also reported increases in the number of requests they received from federal immigration authorities.
The Administration for Children's Services received a request for information about a minor in juvenile justice custody, which the agency did not reply to.
Homeland Security Investigations officers also sent the Taxi and Limousine Commission a request for an individual's TLC license application, which was denied.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the nation's legal immigration agency, asked a Department of Environmental Protection employee to help locate another individual, who the federal agency claimed was a DEP employee.
ICE agents also asked to use the bathroom at a Department of Probation site in Brooklyn, then attempted to look through the sign-in book. Staff “intercepted” them, according to the report, and escorted them out.
Local agencies are required under city law to make a record of requests from federal law enforcement agencies for help with immigration enforcement. But now auditors are requiring city agencies to provide more information, including requests for information from all federal agencies tasked with immigration matters, even those not explicitly involved in immigration enforcement.
The report includes more than two dozen policy recommendations for specific agencies, such as requiring that child welfare staff receive annual refresher trainings on the city's sanctuary laws.
It also recommends that the Department of Social Services revise its protocols and training on permitting ICE onto city property, following reporting by Gothamist that some ICE staff previously entered shelters without permission. And the report recommends that the city’s hospital system develop a protocol for handling care of immigrants in ICE custody.
Tagged
Politics
Zohran Mamdani
donald trump
immigration
immigration and customs enforcement
new york city
sanctuary cities
Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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