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Mayor Adams' meeting with Trump border czar brokered by Dr. Phil
By
Maia Hibbett
Published Dec 13, 2024
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Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
By
Maia Hibbett
Published Dec 13, 2024
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Mayor Eric Adams’ high-stakes meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar was brokered by a surprising celebrity: Dr. Phil.
Adams’ sit-down at Gracie Mansion with incoming immigration official Tom Homan on Thursday came as New Yorkers prepare for what Trump has vowed will be “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.” The mayor has signaled a willingness to work with the incoming administration, while at the same time pledging to “be true” to the city’s immigrant roots.
In an interview that aired after the meeting, Homan praised Adams – and revealed that their talk came together last week, while the immigration hardliner was on Dr. Phil’s private plane.
“I've called him out this past year many times about being more of a politician than police officer,” said Homan, who was a police officer in a small town in the North Country before joining the federal government’s border patrol. “I was wrong. He came through today as a police officer and a mayor that cares about the safety and security of his city.”
Homan added to Dr. Phil: “Thank you for making it possible.”
Dr. Phil's eponymous talk show ran for more than two decades, and the daytime television personality launched his own Merit TV network in the spring, largely focusing on right-wing fixations. Speaking to Homan, he referred to the incoming border official’s concerns about sanctuary cities as “nonpartisan issues.”
Merit TV anchors credited the network’s founder with making essential progress on policy priorities.
“ You had a hand in getting Mayor Eric Adams and Donald Trump's incoming border czar to not only get into the same room together and discuss policy, but to agree on policy,” one anchor said.
“ I had the privilege of introducing Tom Homan and Mayor Eric Adams on an airplane, on FaceTime,” Dr. Phil responded. “We were actually about to take off and I had to call the tower and pull over because Mayor Adams FaceTimed me knowing that I was with the newly appointed border czar and I had the opportunity to introduce the two of them.”
City Hall had a slightly different version of how the meeting came together. A mayoral spokesperson said Homan and Adams already knew each other, and that Dr. Phil had made the phone call from his plane. A spokesperson for the mayor did not answer a question about whether Adams and Dr. Phil are acquainted.
Dr. Phil spoke at rally for Donald Trump in October at Madison Square Garden during the presidential race.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
After his meeting with Homan, Adams said he would use an executive order to alter sanctuary laws that restrict city officials from working with federal immigration enforcement. Challengers seeking to unseat the mayor in next year’s Democratic primary have seized on his comments, suggesting that Adams is angling for a pardon from Trump while battling federal corruption charges.
While speaking with Dr. Phil, Homan expressed hope that his progress with Adams would create a “domino effect” among leaders of other municipalities with similar sanctuary laws.
“ Other sanctuary cities have already contacted me. They want to sit down too,” Homan told Dr. Phil. “So I think what Mayor Adams did — not only come to the table about the safety and security of New York and working with me on criminals and children — he opened the doors to other sanctuary cities that want to have a discussion.”
New York City’s sanctuary laws limit local agencies’ cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Supporters say the laws help ensure that undocumented New Yorkers don’t avoid city services, like food security assistance or reporting crimes to the police, for fear of deportation. A sanctuary law passed in 2014 states that a person eligible for deportation must be convicted of at least one out of 170 criminal acts before city officials turn them over to federal immigration enforcement.
Adams said Thursday that he wanted to expand the list of eligible offenses and deport repeat offenders, though he did not specify how. In a press release, City Hall described the meeting with Homan as "productive." The release reiterated Adams' criticism of the federal government's response to the migrant crisis, and stated that Homan and the mayor had discussed proposals that will "hold violent repeat offenders accountable."
Homan, who was a Immigration and Customs Enforcement official under the Obama and Trump administrations, has been credited as one of the key architects of policies that separated migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Former President Barack Obama, who oversaw more deportations than any other U.S. president, appointed Homan to an executive role in removal operations. During his first term, Trump elevated Homan to ICE director.
Dr. Phil's role in arranging the meeting serves as a reminder of the unusual degree of influence celebrities wielded during the first Trump administration. During Trump's first term, reality TV’s Kim Kardashian helped secure a presidential pardon, and NBA great Dennis Rodman said he helped arrange a meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
For their part, Dr. Phil and Homan appeared to regard the meeting as a success.
“ I would love sanctuary city policies to go away,” Homan said. “And I think President Trump's going to have a big hand in making them go away.”
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new york city
Politics
Maia Hibbett
Maia Hibbett is the People & Power Editor at WNYC & Gothamist.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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