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Mayor Adams, amid deportation jitters, tells Queens town hall he’ll protect ‘all New Yorkers’
By
Arun Venugopal
Published Jan 23, 2025
Modified Jan 23, 2025
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Arun Venugopal/Gothamist
By
Arun Venugopal
Published Jan 23, 2025
Modified Jan 23, 2025
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Mayor Eric Adams told a town hall audience in Queens on Wednesday night that he intends to protect “all New Yorkers” regardless of their immigration statuses, and urged those without legal status not to shrink from their daily routines.
“We're going to continue to stand up for all New Yorkers, documented or undocumented,” Adams said at a town hall at I.S. 61 in Corona. “Our job, no matter who you are in this city, is to make sure you get the services you deserve."
"Children should go to school, those who need health care should go to hospitals, those who are involved in any type of interaction where they're victims of a crime, they should speak to the law enforcement agencies,” he said. “We've maintained that over and over again.”
Adams was responding to an audience member who asked for “clarification” on how the mayor intended to alleviate community fears stemming from President Donald Trump’s threats of immigration enforcement raids and mass deportation.
Adams has publicly backed aspects of Trump’s crackdown, including the removal of repeat criminal offenders, notwithstanding New York’s long-standing “sanctuary city” protections that limit cooperation between city government and federal immigration enforcement officers.
Adams has claimed that his legal woes stem from his opposition to former President Joe Biden's immigration policies — allegations that Trump has echoed.
Separately, Trump has said he would consider pardoning Adams, who faces federal corruption charges. Adams said last week that the subject of a pardon did not come up during his meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and that they spoke about bringing manufacturing jobs to the Bronx and the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The audience member, Dulce Pimentel, who identified herself as an immigrant and parent coordinator at a local school, told Adams the community wanted answers given news reports that he and Trump were aligned on immigration enforcement.
Pimentel said numerous parents had expressed their fears to her and said their children were reluctant to attend school due to fears that their parents would be arrested in their absence.
“It’s imperative that I speak to the administration, to learn what [it’s] doing,” Adams replied.
He urged immigrants not to withdraw from their daily activities, adding that he recognized the critical role they play in the city.
“During COVID who was keeping the shops open? Who was delivering food to the city, when other people were able to shelter in place?” Adams asked. “I saw what the immigrant population has done for the city.”
“We know how much anxiety and uncertainty there is,” he said. “ I have an obligation to communicate and say, ‘How do we do this in a humane way?’ And that's what I must do.”
A demonstrator carrying a sign that read "Resign" stood at the town hall. Outside, a group of demonstrators braving 19-degree weather held signs reading, “Don’t Sell Out Our Immigrant New Yorkers” and “Protect Our Small Businesses.”
The demonstrators were organized by the Street Vendors Project and Make the Road New York, whose advocates have argued that police enforcement along nearby Roosevelt Avenue endangers immigrants, particularly those who lack permanent legal status.
This article was updated with additional information about a forum participant.
Tagged
Asylum Seekers
queens
Race And Justice Unit
Politics
eric adams
Arun Venugopal
Arun Venugopal is a senior reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist Race & Justice Unit who focuses on issues of race and bias in our region. His reporting also tackles the topics of immigration, faith, and inequality. Arun serves as the regular fill-in host of the station's "U.S. of Anxiety" program. Arun was the creator and host of Micropolis, a series about race and identity. He is a contributor to NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has appeared on PBS Newshour, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. He also frequently serves as an emcee and moderator of panel discussions on race, religion, and identity issues and has been a guest host of NPR's "Fresh Air." He lives with his family in Queens.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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