New York City prepares for potential deportations under Trump plan
NEW YORK (WABC) -- City officials in New York are bracing for the possibility of mass deportations under the new presidential administration. Behind the scenes, they've been working for the past two months to train, educate and prepare for what could be ahead.
The city is home to more than 400,000 undocumented immigrants. Advocates say they know what to prepare for because they've experienced it before under the president's first administration.
"I think it'll be a combination of many different kinds of raids, under the first administration we saw a lot of early morning 4 a.m. raids in different neighborhoods, we saw a lot of workplace raids around the country," said Council Member Alexa Aviles, Chair of the Committee on Immigration.
The city has a set of sanctuary city laws that prevent city workers from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, except when it comes to those who have been convicted of committing crimes.
"There's no restriction for the NYPD to coordinate with the various task forces around criminality, there's no restrictions, nothing has changed there," said Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday. "We're going to continue to collaborate with all of our federal partners when it comes to illegal behavior."
"Our sanctuary cities, they're not a silver bullet, they essentially slow down the process and make sure people actually go through due process," said Aviles.
During a recent City Council hearing on immigration, Councilmember Aviles said "we must be clear eyed about the dangers ahead of us." During the hearing, the Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs said the city has been working for two months behind the scenes.
"We have accomplished, I think, significant and important work in preparing for what might come next," said Commissioner Manuel Castro.
They've created an education campaign for undocumented immigrants. For example, they created pamphlets that notify immigrants of their rights and what to do if an ICE official knocks on their door.
They've also hosted training sessions and reached out to every city agency, urging them to follow sanctuary city laws. In turn, each department is taking its own action. The Department of Education sent an email to each principal educating them on the rights of students and how to support them.
A spokesperson sent Eyewitness News a statement:
"New York City Public Schools is committed to protecting the right of every student to attend public school, regardless of immigration status, national origin, or religion. Our schools are safe harbors for our children and nothing has changed in terms of how we operate - we do not permit non-NYC law enforcement agents, including ICE, to enter schools except when absolutely required by law - and we do not ask families to disclose, nor do we track, immigration status. Our principals received reminders about students' right to education and resources to support multilingual learners, immigrant students, and students in temporary housing. We are working with external partners to provide Know Your Rights trainings online and in person, and in multiple languages, to educators and families."
"People are very, very concerned," said Aviles. "ICE can do its job on its own and New York City should do its job on its own and that's what we're trying to make clear."
A former federal ICE prosecutor told Eyewitness that targeting immigrants who have been arrested or having pending deportation orders has always been a priority and will continue to be under the current administration.
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