After ICE abducted another Columbia student earlier this month, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams spoke out today at a City Council hearing of the Committee on Immigration in favor of strong sanctuary protections and ‘Know Your Rights’ information campaigns.
“Despite all of the fearmongering about sanctuary cities, these laws make us all safer: these protections allow immigrants to report crime, serve as witnesses, and access schools and city services without fear…These large-scale immigration enforcement operations also divert resources away from initiatives that actually promote safety,” argued Public Advocate Williams. “Unfortunately, former Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order to allow ICE to establish an office on Rikers Island, and expressed his desire to change the city’s sanctuary laws to allow more collaboration between the city and federal immigration enforcement agencies…Thankfully, Mayor Mamdani feels differently, and has issued his own executive order reaffirming the city’s immigrant protections. Still, we must remain vigilant, and thoroughly examine every area that may leave immigrants vulnerable while accessing city services.”
He cited multiple areas of ICE abuses, including the Columbia detention and the arrests ICE routinely conducts at courthouses, saying that “We must step up where the federal government has stepped back. City agencies are for the people who live and work in New York City, not to serve dubiously legal, dangerous, and wasteful immigration enforcement operations. Every person in our city, and in our country, has inalienable human and civil rights, and we cannot let the inhumanity of this president erode our own humanity.”
The Public Advocate's full statement as delivered is below. He will be at Columbia University today for a press conference one year after ICE abducted Mahmoud Khalil. STATEMENT OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION MARCH 9, 2026 Good morning,
I am Jumaane Williams, Public Advocate for the City of New York. I would like to thank Chair Encarnacion and the members of the Committee on Immigration for holding this hearing today.
New York City is home to more than three million immigrants, and it is this diverse tapestry of people that makes our city so special. Right now, they are under an unprecedented attack on their civil and human rights, and each of us have a responsibility to protect them.
Similarly, cities’ sanctuary laws are also under attack. New York City has had laws in place that limit how the city can interact with federal immigration enforcement since 1989 when Executive Order 124 was first enacted by then-Mayor Ed Koch. Our sanctuary laws do not “shield criminals,” as many claim; in fact, the city is allowed to honor detainer requests for individuals convicted of more than 170 different crimes, including rape and murder. Despite all of the fearmongering about sanctuary cities, these laws make us all safer: these protections allow immigrants to report crime, serve as witnesses, and access schools and city services without fear. These large-scale immigration enforcement operations also divert resources away from initiatives that actually promote safety.
It is not just the president leading attacks on our immigrant communities; with the previous mayoral administration, the call for erosion of immigrant rights came from inside the house as well. Unfortunately, former Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order to allow ICE to establish an office on Rikers Island, and expressed his desire to change the city’s sanctuary laws to allow more collaboration between the city and federal immigration enforcement agencies.
Thankfully, Mayor Mamdani feels differently, and has issued his own executive order reaffirming the city’s immigrant protections. Still, we must remain vigilant, and thoroughly examine every area that may leave immigrants vulnerable while accessing city services.
One area of concern and vulnerability is schools. Schools are not permitted to open their doors to immigration enforcement unless they have a signed judicial warrant. Though we have not seen anyone picked up by immigration enforcement either inside K-12 schools or while dropping off their children, we have seen this take place in other localities, and the fear around attending school is real. Students at our colleges and universities, however, have been particularly targeted by this administration; just last week, federal agents misrepresenting themselves as NYPD officers took a Columbia student from her dorm and detained her, lying about trying to find a young woman who was not missing. Thankfully, she was released later that day, but the incident exposed a concerning vulnerability that requires examination as well as collaboration to ensure it does not happen again.
We have also seen immigrants targeted following legal proceedings. When ICE consistently detains people who have lawfully attended an immigration hearing or check-in, it disincentivizes complying with the law and attending these hearings. Federal presence at municipal and state courthouses, too, can deter people from participating in the legal process, even when they are the one who was victimized, or a key witness in a crime.
This is why protecting “sensitive locations”—places like schools, courthouses, hospitals, shelters, and places of worship—is so important. We must step up where the federal government has stepped back. City agencies are for the people who live and work in New York City, not to serve dubiously legal, dangerous, and wasteful immigration enforcement operations. Every person in our city, and in our country, has inalienable human and civil rights, and we cannot let the inhumanity of this president erode our own humanity.
Thank you.