FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 11, 2025

Contact: Trip Eggert, media@vera.org

NEW YORK – In response to the New York City Council’s resolution to sue Mayor Eric Adams for allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Rikers Island despite the city’s sanctuary city laws, Alana Sivin, director of the Vera Institute of Justice’s Greater Justice New York initiative, and Shayna Kessler, director of the Vera Institute of Justice’s Universal Access to Representation initiative, issued the following joint statement:

“Mayor Adams’s decision to bring ICE back to Rikers Island contravenes New York’s sanctuary city laws, which have stood for over ten years. Stationing ICE agents on Rikers Island is not about making New York City safer. It is a dragnet to enforce the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda that tears families apart and upends our communities.

“We applaud the City Council for passing a resolution to take the Adams administration to court over this violation of local law. Mayor Adams and his administration’s cooperation with ICE highlights his eagerness to appease officials in Washington, DC, rather than to protect New Yorkers. We deserve better.

“Immigrants are and have always been a part of New York City. Instead of scare tactics and baseless weaponizing of immigrants and crime, New York City’s mayor should be championing the things that make this great city safer for all of us—such as housing, good paying jobs, education, and access to treatment. And, to protect our immigrant neighbors from this federal and local administrations’ overreach, we need leaders in Albany to pass the New York for All, BUILD, and Access to Representation Acts to provide sanctuary and legal representation for immigrants at risk of deportation.

“We stand ready to support city and state leaders in the pursuit of real solutions that deliver safety and justice.”

###

About the Vera Institute of Justice: The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera’s headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.

About Vera Action: Vera Action is an independent 501(c)(4) organization and the advocacy partner of the Vera Institute of Justice. At Vera Action, we harness the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities.