FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Contact:
Yonah Zeitz, yonah@katalcenter.org | (347) 201-2769
Follow on socials @KatalCenter | #ShutRikers
Community Organizations and Advocates Reject Pretextual Executive Order Bringing ICE Officers Back to Rikers Island
New York, NY: Last night, news broke that Deputy Mayor Mastro made good on Mayor Adams’s February promise to return ICE to operate on Rikers Island by entering an executive order establishing federal law enforcement space at Rikers, including for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This comes after multiple meetings between the Mayor and Tom Homan, the “border czar” charged with carrying out Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Rikers Island has a long and documented history of violence, abuse, and mismanagement. Under Mayor Adams, the conditions at Rikers have worsened, and at least 38 people have died in NYC jails. In the last six weeks, five incarcerated people have died at Rikers.
The Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, the Immigrant Defense Project, Families for Freedom, Make the Road Action issued the following statement:
“This executive order leaves no doubt that the Mayor is working as a delegate for Trump and his mass deportation agenda. The order targets immigrant New Yorkers and rolls back the clock a decade to a time when our city facilitated the detention and deportation of thousands of people annually through unfettered access to them at Rikers Island.
New York City laws – created by the City Council over a decade ago – are clear: our city cannot and must not be in the business of deportation and instead our city agencies must build trust with immigrants so they can serve all New Yorkers. The executive order before us is nothing but a pretextual effort using fearmongering to attempt to fool New Yorkers into believing this is about their safety, when in reality, it is about attacking the immigrants in our communities.
Instead of selling out immigrants to Trump, the Mayor of the City of New York should be working to defend all New Yorkers, including immigrants, and shut down Rikers once and for all. We look forward to the City Council and our local elected officials taking all action necessary to intervene with urgency and protect their constituents. ”
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