Feb. 12 (UPI) — Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday announced the Department of Justice is suing the state of New York over immigration enforcement in her first news conference after taking over the agency six days ago.
The lawsuit named Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James and Mark Schroeder, the state’s motor vehicles commissioner, as defendants.
“This is a new DOJ. We are taking steps to protect American citizens,” she said with federal agents behind her. “As you know, we sued Illinois, and New York didn’t listen … you’re next.”
The lawsuit focuses on the state, rather than New York City, which has been taking most new arrivals.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was not named in the lawsuit. On Tuesday, the Justice Department directed prosecutors to drop their investigation into Adams for bribery and fraud charges. They argue the probe “has unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime” in his city.
Bondi said: “We’re hoping that in New York, that Mayor Adams is going to cooperate with us with the sanctuary cities and the illegal aliens.”
Bondi said she wants states to “comply with federal law” and assist with immigration enforcement. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it is the federal government’s responsibility to enforce immigration law.
In a memo last week, she encouraged the department to pursue enforcement actions against sanctuary cities, counties or states that don’t comply with the federal government’s immigration enforcement.
Designated sanctuary areas limit or refuse to cooperate with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law. They protect immigrants from deportation and allow them to engage with law enforcement without fear of reprisal.
There are 13 sanctuary states, including New York and Illinois. In addition, there are sanctuary cities outside them, including Atlanta; Louisville, Ky.; Baltimore; and New Orleans as well as several designated counties.
None are in Texas or Arizona, which border Mexico. The other two border states, New Mexico and California, have sanctuary laws.
Last week, the Department of Justice filed charges against the state of Illinois and Chicago for similar reasons.
The DOJ is targeting New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles’ Green Light Law, which allows immigrants without legal status to obtain a driver’s license. It does not include their immigration status and offers protections for immigrants from discrimination.
“If these great men and women pull over someone and don’t have access to their background, they have no idea who they are dealing with, and it puts their lives on the line every single day,” she told reporters.
More than 11 million undocumented immigrants are estimated to be living in the United States.
Appearing at the news conference was Tammy Nobles, the mother of a woman killed by an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador who was released by the Border Patrol in 2022. He was flown to Maryland and went on to kill Kayla Hamilton, 20, shortly after.
The case is not connected to New York.
Border czar Tom Homan hasn’t set arrest or deportation goals, and wants to first concentrate on violent criminals. He is asking for more funding from Congress.
Since Trump took over as president on Jan. 20, 826 people daily have been arrested.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is on track for 25,000 arrests in Trump’s first 30 days. During Joe Biden’s presidency, the monthly figure never reached 20,000.
In the third quarter of 2024, there were 68,000 deportations, which is a 69% increase from 2023, according to ICE.