ICE returns to Rikers Island under new NYC executive order

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will once again open an office on Rikers Island in New York

and carry out investigations of criminals associated with gangs and terrorists. Federal immigration authorities will also be able to share intelligence with the Department of Correction

the New York City Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies. New York City's First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro signed an executive order Tuesday night

allowing federal immigration authorities to return to Rikers. Mastro spoke to Fox 5 New York and said the operation aims to make New York City safer

It's about gleaning information and then using it in federal criminal investigations

to go after the larger criminal enterprise of these transnational violent gangs

Mastro said the decision was ultimately left to him after Mayor Eric Adams recused himself

from the situation. Adams has been under scrutiny ever since President Trump's

Department of Justice asked federal prosecutors in New York to drop federal corruption charges

against the sitting mayor, a decision criticized as quid pro quo for Adams to get his case dismissed

and then help the Trump administration carry out its immigration agenda Last week a federal judge permanently dismissed the charges against Adams In February two days after the DOJ asked prosecutors to drop Adams case

he met with border czar Tom Homan. Both men said they discussed removing violent migrant gangs from

the city and the possibility of allowing ICE officers back on Rikers to assist with those

investigations. Mastro tells Fox 5 he's never met or spoken to Homan. New York City's council

Speaker Adrian Adams, who's currently running for mayor, called the Rikers Island executive

order deeply concerning. It is hard not to see this action as connected to the dismissal of the

mayor's case and his willingness to cooperate with Trump's extreme deportation agenda, that is

removing residents without justification or due process, Ms. Adams said in a statement

She's not related to Mayor Eric Adams. Allowing ICE officers on Rikers is a top priority for the

Trump administration, allowing Holman to carry out Trump's plan of mass deportations

Ms. Adams says local law does not allow federal immigration officers on Rikers for civil

immigration enforcement and that city council members are reviewing all options. For Straight

Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan. For more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com