The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, claims the city's policies have "allowed dangerous criminals to roam the streets and commit dangerous crimes within the community."
The department argued the city's sanctuary policies amount to an "intentional effort" to obstruct federal immigration enforcement and should be declared unlawful under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause.
"New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies," Bondi said. "If New York City won't stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will."
The lawsuit comes after the recent shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer in Washington Heights.
In the hours after the shooting, federal authorities learned that the two suspects had deportation orders already in place.
"Make no mistake. This officer is fighting for his life because of the policies of the mayor of this city," said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday.
The DOJ has filed several other similar legal challenges in Los Angeles, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, as well as one targeting the State of New York.
In a statement, the mayor said the city is reviewing the lawsuit and reiterated that he supports changing the city's sanctuary city laws:
"The job of a mayor is to protect the safety of every single person in their city - and that's exactly what our administration has worked to do every day for nearly four years. Keeping New Yorkers safe also means making sure they feel safe, and we have been clear: no one should be afraid to dial 911, send their kids to school, or go to the hospital, and no New Yorker should feel forced to hide in the shadows. That's why we support the essence of the local laws put in place by the City Council - but I have also been clear they go too far when it comes to dealing with those violent criminals on our streets and has urged the Council to reexamine them to ensure we can effectively work with the federal government to make our city safer. So far, the Council has refused. We will review the lawsuit."
New York City Council also released a statement in response to the lawsuit, saying "the evidence consistently shows that cities with sanctuary laws are safer than those without them," adding that "It is the Trump Administration indiscriminately targeting people at civil court hearings, detaining high schoolers, and separating families that make our city and nation less safe."
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
ALSO READ | New York City's sanctuary laws under scrutiny after Border Protection officer shot in Manhattan
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