Trump border czar Homan threatens to swamp New York with ICE agents as Mamdani blasts back

Trump border czar Tom Homan on Wednesday threatened to double the number of federal immigration agents in New York if Gov. Hochul doesn’t cooperate amid growing anger over the administration’s crackdowns.

Assemblymember and NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was among others who used Homan’s visit to Albany Wednesday to voice their dismay, particularly over the recent detention of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil.

“How many New Yorkers will you detain without charge?” Mamdani yelled as he tried to break through state police officers. “Do you believe in the First Amendment?”

Honan also praised Mayor Adams as a partner and said he plans to meet with him later this week.

Homan said the idea that sanctuary laws — which limit in certain circumstances local officials cooperation with federal immigration agents — help public safety because they allow immigrants to work with police to report crimes a “bunch of crap.”

“You’re not gonna stop us, New York State,” Homan said at he state Capitol in Albany. “You gotta change the sanctuary status. If you don’t, get out of the way.”

“Sanctuary cities will get exactly what they don’t want: more agents in the community and more collateral arrest, because you have forced us in the community because you failed to let us into the jail,” he said. “What a shame.”

Last month, Mayor Adams promised to issue an order allowing federal immigration agents into Rikers Island — a significant change to the city’s policies. That order hasn’t yet materialized, and the mayor and Homan have declined to provide updates on the timing.

Homan also slammed the governor’s attempts to place the mayor under tighter controls on the mayor. Amid the stunning resignations of four deputy mayors and concern over the Department of Justice’s efforts to dismiss Adams’ corruption case, Hochul announced  series of “guardrails” on Adams.

“The governor wants to run down there and fire him because he’s working with Tom Homan,” he said, pointing to himself.

The border czar, who is an upstate New York native, said Adams hadn’t been doing enough to crack down on immigration in his years of public service — but that changed when they sat down for their first meeting last November. Homan said Adams made it clear he wanted to help the Trump administration carry out their immigration agenda items.

The mayor has come under fire for the Department of Justice’s efforts to dismiss his corruption indictment for political reasons. The department is pushing to drop the case with the possibly of brining it back in the future — leaving many, including former U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and a court-appointed independent attorney, to believe that the Trump administration was a “sword of Damocles” over Adams’ head.

The mayor, who has pleased not guilty to the charges against him, has said there was no quid pro quo.

“As far as all of this, ‘Well, he’s making a deal because of his criminal issues,’ I’ve been talking to him since November,” Homan said. “Had nothing to do with that, far as I’m concerned.”

In response to the move to dismiss Adams’ charges, the governor proposed a set of legislation that would scale back his powers.

“This is an attack on immigration enforcement, that’s plain in what it is,” Homan said.

Hochul pushed back against the criticism.

“Governor Hochul has been clear with New Yorkers: she supports secure borders and deporting violent criminals, but won’t let New York help the Trump Administration tear babies away from their parents,” Avi Small, a spokesperson for the governor.

“This isn’t the first time Trump Administration officials have lied about our policies — and it probably won’t be the last — but Governor Hochul is staying focused on keeping New Yorkers safe.”

Homan also addressed the issue of Khalil, the Columbia grad student targeted by ICE and arrested for his pro-Palestinian advocacy, stating that “free speech has limitations.”

Originally Published: March 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM EDT