The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday against New York City and Mayor Eric Adams, arguing that the city’s sanctuary laws are unconstitutional and obstruct federal immigration enforcement efforts.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, claims that city policies restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, thereby violating the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which affirms that federal law takes precedence over conflicting local statutes.
“New York City’s sanctuary laws continue to obstruct law enforcement,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement posted to X. “This interference puts public safety at risk.”
The complaint asserts that the city’s refusal to share information and coordinate with federal agencies impedes the federal government’s “preeminent and preemptive authority to regulate immigration,” and undermines efforts to protect communities and uphold immigration laws.
The lawsuit follows a high-profile incident last weekend in which an off-duty Customs and Border Protection agent was shot near the George Washington Bridge. Authorities say the suspect, who also sustained injuries in the exchange, is an immigrant who entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 and had been subject to a deportation order since November.
Trump administration border adviser Tom Homan pointed to the case as an example of the dangers posed by sanctuary policies. At a press conference on Monday at One World Trade Center, Homan criticized a recent New York City Council decision that blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement from opening a facility at Rikers Island.
“You don’t want to let us in the jails to arrest a bad guy in the safety and security of a jail,” Homan said. “You want to release him into the street, which makes it unsafe for the alien, because anything can happen in an on-street arrest.”
Mayor Adams, a Democrat, has previously acknowledged that the city’s sanctuary policies may require “reexamination,” signaling possible changes to a longstanding approach that has frequently clashed with federal priorities.
The legal challenge is part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to dismantle sanctuary policies nationwide. Similar lawsuits have recently been filed against other sanctuary jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, Illinois and New Jersey, with the administration arguing that local resistance undermines national immigration enforcement and endangers public safety.
