Mayor Eric Adams avoided intervening in the case of a New York public school student who was arrested by federal immigration authorities during a judicial hearing last week.
During his weekly press conference on May 27, Adams argued that the incident did not occur within the city’s schools and, therefore, is a federal issue outside its control.
Adams thus responded to a report by Chalkbeat New York that indicated that a Bronx high school student – identified only by his first name, Dylan – was arrested by immigration and customs control agents (ICE) last Wednesday.
This would be the first time that a public school student is arrested during the second term of President Trump, who has promoted an aggressive deportation policy, regardless of whether the person has committed a crime or not.
According to the report, Dylan was legally in the country, waiting for a resolution on his asylum application under a program implemented by former President Biden. He went to his hearing only, without a lawyer, and without knowing it he resigned from the legal protections that prevented his arrest, which allowed ICE to proceed with the arrest.
The mayor stressed that Dylan was arrested outside the school schools and that his office had no coordination with ICE.
“People must understand that this did not happen within a school,” said Adams. “We do not know what was the result of the judicial case. One appears to a hearing for a reason; something happens during that hearing, and we are not responsible or in charge of that. So I think it is a question that must be addressed to the federal authorities.”
‘Our students must be protected’
Michael Mulgrew, president of the city’s teachers union, United Federation of Teachers (UFT), adopted a very different tone in a statement issued on Tuesday.
“We must protect our students,” said Mulgrew. “In this case, it seems that a Bronx high school student was a victim of abuse and stripped of his legal rights during a judicial hearing. In New York City, justice and equity must be for everyone, not only for a few. Together with legal and immigration defenders, we will fight for justice.”
According to the city’s sanctuary laws, the Adams administration is prohibited from cooperating with ICE in deportation cases, since they are civil issues. However, the city does collaborate with ICE when it comes to undocumented persons who have been convicted of serious or violent crimes, they are in terrorist surveillance lists or have a court order of arrest.
The mayor has repeatedly said that he is working with the Trump administration specifically to prosecute migrants to “commit crimes”, without distinction between those who have been convicted and who have only been accused. At the same time, he has insisted that his government will not violate the law collaborating with ICE in civil cases.
The executive order of ADAMS that allows ICE to restore offices in Rikers Island to handle criminal investigations – currently in judicial dispute – has led several politicians and defenders to question if their administration will really respect the laws of sanctuary of the city.
‘I’m limited to what I can do’
Adams insisted that these laws prevent him from using his relationship with President Trump or with his “Tsar of the Border”, Tom Homan, to intervene in the case of Dylan.
“I am limited in the coordination I can do,” said Adams. “And sometimes that is a blessing and a curse.”
The mayor also dismissed the idea that undocumented immigrants such as Dylan Teman attend the public school or using other city services for fear of being arrested by ICE. Instead, he encouraged them to continue using those services, noting that there have been no ICE raids in places such as:
“It didn’t happen in a school. I’m telling children to go to school,” he said. “They are at school. We have not had ICE raids in our schools. We have not had ICE raids in our churches. We have not had ICE raids in our hospitals. We have not had ICE raids in workplace. To all the places where I tell the people who go, I am fulfilling what I have promised.”
