City Council fear-mongering in lawsuit against ICE on Rikers, Attorney says

The New York City Council was accused of fear-mongering in their fight to stop ICE on Rikers Island, an attorney for the Mayors’ office said in court Friday.

The Adams’ administration’s attorney, James Catterson, made the argument to Judge Mary Rosado in response to the lawsuit and Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) placed on Adams’ office to bar them from working with the Feds on the intended jail office.

“All of this is nothing but speculation,” Catterson said of the council’s arguments — which hinged on distrust of the Trump Administrations relationship with Mayor Eric Adams.

Rosado voted to extend the restraining order — which prevents Hizzoner’s officials from working with ICE on the office in any capacity — until the next preliminary hearing scheduled for May 29.

Attorney for the City Council, Daniel Kornstein, contended that the push for ICE on the embattled prison island was a result of a “Corrupt bargain” between Adams’ officials and the U.S. Attorney’s office.

“(The Trump Administration will) twist this process into something that isn’t written down,” Kornstein said.

“And we know from the last several months that the (Adams’) administration has been lawless in responding to court orders from the highest court in the land,” he asserted.

The City Council filed the restraining order against the administration after the Mayor’s office signed an executive order permitting ICE to reopen its office on Rikers earlier this month.

The order was put forth by First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro — as Mayor Adams recused himself from the legislation in an attempt to avoid conflict — which the council contested, didn’t cut it.

“Delegation doesn’t cure it because the mayor did not recuse himself,” Kornstein said, “he did not resign.”

Mastro said Adams’ team was “dissapointed’ in the ruling to extend the TRO at a press conference following the hearing.

“It’s preventing the city from protecting itself against violent transnational criminal gangs that have been declared terrorist organizations,” The First Deputy Mayor argued.

ICE previously held offices at the prison site until 2014, when then-mayor Bill De Blasio enacted sanctuary city laws that called for the agency’s removal. 

Mayor Adams began voicing his support for its reopening shortly after Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan threatened the NYC mayor that he would be ‘up his but’ if he didn’t work with the Trump team on immigration.

Though the order maintains ICE will only get involved in criminal investigations if allowed onto RIkers, the council has pressed on if there will be consequences if the agency acts on civil cases.

Mastro said the administration is working on a template internally that he thinks will address those issues.

Following the Hearing, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams spoke to supporters of the TRO and members of the media saying:

“This represents an important step by the court to protect public safety in our city and keep all New Yorkers safe. It validates our efforts to defend New York City from being made even more vulnerable to the Trump administration’s extreme agenda of unconstitutional activities by blocking the mayor from enabling these attacks on the safety and rights of the people he is supposed to represent,” she told supporters.