Justice Department Sues New York City Over Sanctuary Policies

WASHINGTON – Today, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, and several other city officials to challenge New York’s sanctuary city laws.

As detailed in the complaint, New York’s sanctuary policies have allowed dangerous criminals to roam the streets and commit heinous crimes within the community. These policies reflect an intentional effort to obstruct federal law enforcement and thus are preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “If New York City won’t stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.”

“For too long, New York City has been at the vanguard of interfering with enforcing our immigration laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate. “Its efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement end now.”

The case, filed in the Eastern District of New York, is the latest action from the Justice Department fighting back against unlawful obstruction of enforcement of federal immigration laws. In the past three months, the Department has filed lawsuits against Los Angeles, New York State, Colorado, Illinois, the city of Rochester, New York, and several New Jersey cities to invalidate unconstitutional sanctuary policies. Recently, the Mayor of Louisville revoked the city’s sanctuary policy after the Justice Department threatened legal action.

Read the full complaint here.