Another Death in NYC Jail, as Mayor Adams Plans to Send in ICE

Author: Alexander Lekhtman with Filter
2/20/25
The New York City jails crisis is spiraling; a 34th person is now reported to have died in custody
under the tenure of Mayor Eric Adams (D). Adams’ fate meanwhile hangs in the balance after a
February 19 court hearing. Multiple federal prosecutors resigned following the Trump
administration’s move to dismiss corruption charges against the mayor—a move made in
exchange, advocates say, for Adams’ collaboration with the administration’s plans for the mass
deportation of immigrants.
Families of incarcerated people and advocates rallied outside the Tweed Courthouse in
Manhattan on February 19, calling for Adams’ removal.
The Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice issued a statement that day, saying that the
newly reported death of an individual held on Rikers Island was “at least the 34th” fatality in
New York City Department of Correction custody since Adams took office in 2022.
“Instead of Adams working to save lives and close Rikers, he’s abandoned the plan and wants to
let ICE onto Rikers to further target and criminalize immigrant New Yorkers.”
Mayor Adams is now planning an executive order to bring federal ICE (Immigration and
Customs Enforcement) officers onto Rikers to work with the Correctional Intelligence Bureau
and assist in investigations. The mayor announced the plan on February 13, after meeting with
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s designated “border czar.”
“It’s clear instead of Adams working to save lives and close Rikers, he’s abandoned the plan and
wants to let ICE onto Rikers to further target and criminalize immigrant New Yorkers,” Yonah
Zeitz, advocacy director at the Katal Center, told Filter.
“We reject Mayor Adams’ plan,” he continued. “As a result of organizing there was a law passed
a decade ago to prohibit ICE from operating on Rikers. The mayor is once again obfuscating the
law to serve himself at the expense of New Yorkers, and in this case targeting immigrants in a
quid pro quo with President Trump to get his corruption charges dropped.”
The February 19 rally also launched the “People’s Budget”—a set of demands to the city
government for increased funding for social services. The activists are calling for Adams to step
down, or for New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) to remove him from office.
Rikers Island, the city’s main jail complex, has a long and infamous history of human rights
abuses within its walls. Kalief Browder, for example, was a young Black man who was held at
Rikers in pretrial detention between 2010-2013, and subjected to 800 days of solitary
confinement. He was beaten repeatedly by other incarcerated people and corrections officers.
Two years after his release, Browder died of suicide. His heartbreaking story was the subject of a
2017 miniseries produced by Jay Z—but it’s just one of many.
“Our main demand is to shut it down—until then, the federal courts should appoint a receiver to
improve conditions and save lives.”
“Our main demand is to shut it down,” Zeitz said of the complex. “Under this administration
conditions have gotten worse, the jail population has gone up instead of down and as of today 34
people have died in DOC custody. This is the number one thing that needs to happen—until
then, the federal courts should appoint a receiver to improve conditions and save lives.”
Activists have long fought against the appalling conditions and abuses, which led to a “Close
Rikers” campaign in the 2010s. In 2018 the campaign succeeded in getting the City Council and
then-Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) to declare their support for closing Rikers Island. After years of
debate, the Council agreed on a plan to phase out the Rikers jails, replacing them with a series of
new jails located throughout the five boroughs. The city committed to closing Rikers by 2027.
Adams has placed this plan in severe doubt. Since taking office in 2022, the former NYC cop has
emphasized more of a “tough on crime” approach—re-deploying, for example, a special NYPD
anti-crime unit that de Blasio had disbanded. He has dragged his feet on meeting the city’s
commitment to close Rikers, as the jails’ population remains too high to be closed on the agreed
timeline. As Gothamist reported, “it looks increasingly unlikely that New York City officials will
shutter Rikers Island by the legally mandated August 2027 deadline.” In January, the city
confirmed that none of the borough-based jails will be complete before 2027.
The future of Rikers has been the subject of a legal battle since long before Adams took office.
Back in 2011 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D), the city government was sued by the Legal
Aid Society and the federal prosecutor in New York, who alleged a “pattern and practice” of
unnecessary and excessive force. In 2015 a federal judge ruled against the city, and put in place a
consent decree requiring reforms and an independent monitor for the jails.
“The federal monitor who is overseeing Rikers now says conditions are worse than when the
monitor took office in 2015.”
A decade later, with violence and deaths in custody unabated, a federal judge in New York has
considered going much further—by putting the city’s jail system entirely under control of a
receiver, who would take on full responsibility for managing the facilities and staff. In November
2024, the judge held the city in contempt and sided with the plaintiffs, saying she was “inclined”
to appoint a receiver, but that decision is still pending as she continues to hear from the parties.
Zeitz reiterated that Mayor Adams’ actions are an attempt to get out of his own legal troubles,
while he has completely failed to improve conditions on Rikers.
“The federal monitor who is overseeing Rikers now says conditions are worse than when the
monitor took office in 2015,” he said. “It’s clear this administration has done everything it can to
remove oversight and accountability, and it’s coming at the costs of New Yorkers’ lives who are
incarcerated there.”