At both the state and city level, New York’s governments are finding themselves increasingly at odds with the White House in the face of President Trump and Elon Musk’s radical actions at federal agencies.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has a meeting on his schedule this morning with “border czar” Tom Homan at ICE’s New York City headquarters, as the New York Post reports that the Trump official is “not happy and hasn’t seen enough progress” when it comes to the city’s assistance in carrying out Trump’s mass deportation plans. “Homan wants something immediate and doesn’t want to wait ’til next January,” a source familiar with the meeting told the Post.
Mayor Adams first met with Homan last December in Gracie Mansion, telling reporters after their discussion that they “have the same desire” on deportations. Adams was recently freed from an impending federal corruption trial that was supposed to start in April, as Trump’s former personal lawyer and now acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove directed the federal prosecutors at the Southern District of New York to drop the case. The Post’s source was unsparing in portraying the city’s top government official as subservient and indebted to the president, saying that “he’s going to have to beg and be a good boy for Trump.” They further indicated that Homan and Trump expect Adams to make further use of his “emergency order power,” even as the mayor has already issued a city-level state of emergency over the influx of migrants in 2022, which has been renewed ever since and is still in force.
Mayor Adams’ meeting with Homan comes as the federal government has clawed back $80 million paid to New York City through FEMA for temporarily housing migrants in hotels. Kristi Noem took to social media confirming the news on Wednesday evening, saying that the disbursing of those monies was the work of “deep state activists” at the agency. New York City Comptroller and Democratic candidate for mayor Brad Lander called the move “highway robbery” in a statement. “New York City cannot take this lying down,” Lander’s statement reads. “I call on the Mayor to immediately pursue legal action to ensure the tens of millions of dollars stolen by Trump and DOGE are rightfully returned.”
Discord is growing in Albany as well, as Governor Kathy Hochul has canceled a meeting scheduled with President Trump after the DOJ announced a lawsuit against New York State over its “Green Light Law,” which grants migrants the opportunity to obtain driver’s licenses and learner’s permits even if they are undocumented. According to the case filed by the DOJ in the Northern District of New York, the law “unnecessarily forces brave law enforcement officers into dangers and uncertain circumstances” by depriving them of information concerning those they might be pulling over in traffic stops or in executing search warrants. In her statement from the White House briefing room, US Attorney General Pam Bondi employed a more vengeance-laden rhetoric in announcing the legal action. “As you know, we sued Illinois,” Bondi said. “New York didn’t listen. So now, you’re next.”
New York state officials declared their intent to fight the DOJ suit. “Our state laws, including the Green Light law, protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “I am prepared to defend our laws, just as I always have.” Avi Small, Governor Hochul’s press secretary stated that she “has been clear from day one: she supports deporting violent criminals who break our laws, believes that law-abiding families should not be targets, and will coordinate with federal authorities who have a judicial warrant.”
Governor Hochul has indicated that she and the president may meet next week when she will be in Washington, D.C. for the National Association of Governors meeting.
