Earlier this afternoon, Mayor Eric Adams met with the “border czar” for the incoming Trump administration, Tom Homan, at Gracie Mansion. Over the past couple of weeks, the mayor has repeatedly expressed that he is “excited” and “looking forward” to his conversation with the former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official. Shortly after 3pm, Adams gave a press conference on their meeting lasting only ten minutes, in which he created the impression that Homan largely agreed with the mayor’s views on immigration and deportation,
Adams stated that he and Homan “have the same desire,” or some variation of the phrase multiple times in the brief presser. “We’re gonna protect the rights of immigrants in this city that are hardworking, giving back to the city in a real way,” the mayor said, indicating also that Homan was of the same mind. “We’re not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants, and longstanding New Yorkers.”
Homan was head of ICE in Trump’s first term, and has been described as the “intellectual father” of the family separation policy carried out against migrants during that time. Estimates vary as to how many children have been separated from their parents by this policy, with a New York Times investigation in 2020 putting the figure at roughly 5,500, although the figure is possibly much higher due to lack of documentation and children being released before identifying their families. Homan, a former police officer in West Carthage, New York, has stated that he does not “give a shit” about the backlash and lawsuits from family separations he championed. Since Trump’s election, Homan has described his plans to implement Trump’s stated mass deportation policy as “shock and awe,” a reference to the initial bombing campaign in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Other than stating he and Homan are largely in agreement, Adams was sparse on the details of today’s meeting. Asked how and to what extent local authorities would cooperate with the Trump administration, he indicated that lawyers from the city government are seeking authorization to meet with counterparts from ICE, in order to “operationalize what both sides want.” He also mentioned in passing that a “representative from the Biden administration” was in the meeting as well: Kenneth Genalo, head of the ICE NYC Field Office.
Throughout the presser, Adams took a hard line against the journalists attending the briefing, accusing them of writing reports skewed by “preconceived notions and distorted views on what I have articulated.” He also claimed that Homan was the victim of similar treatment, saying that “what has been reported is totally distorted from […] our face-to-face eyeball-to-eyeball conversation.”
