After more than a year of blaming Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for New York City’s migrant crisis, Mayor Eric Adams has reversed course, welcoming federal assistance to remove illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes. Adams made the announcement Thursday following a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan.
Adams, a Democrat, acknowledged that his priorities align with Homan’s goal of improving public safety by deporting the most violent offenders first. “My goal is clearly again with my target area,” Adams said, emphasizing his commitment to reducing crime in the city.
Adams also highlighted a broader crisis involving unaccompanied alien children (UACs), revealing that 500,000 children with sponsors cannot be located. “We can’t find them. We don’t know if they’re doing child labor. We don’t know if they’re doing sex crimes. We don’t know if they’re being exploited,” Adams said. These minors, originally placed through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), have increasingly been discovered in forced labor and abusive situations.
Recent investigations have found UACs in exploitative work environments, including an Illinois food packaging plant. Abuse and negligence within the ORR program have been documented for over a decade, with reports of children being placed with gang members, individuals with criminal records, and even at non-residential addresses. The Biden administration’s handling of the UAC program has faced heavy criticism, with the Office of Inspector General and congressional investigations uncovering repeated failures.
Child advocate Sheena Rodriguez, founder of Alliance for a Safe Texas, has called for an end to the ORR program, citing persistent abuse and lack of oversight. “Congress must end this program to stop ongoing abuse,” Rodriguez argues.
Adams’ comments reflect growing frustration with Democratic policies on immigration and public safety. He criticized his party’s hypocrisy, saying, “There’s a level of hypocrisy that everyone states they want to protect everyone but innocent individuals who are victims of crimes.”
Senate Republicans have also slammed the Biden administration, claiming its policies have created “the largest child trafficking ring in U.S. history.” Despite these findings, Congress has continued to fund the ORR program.
With NYC overwhelmed and public safety concerns mounting, Adams’ shift signals a new willingness to cooperate with federal efforts under the incoming Trump administration. This could mark a significant step toward addressing illegal immigration-related crime and protecting vulnerable children who have fallen through the cracks of the current system.
