Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis warned New York City would see a mass deportation as soon as President Donald Trump's long-promised crackdown on illegal immigration begins.
The Republican, who represents Staten Island and Brooklyn, told NY1 The Big Apple is said to be one of the first sanctuary cities targeted by the federal government as President Trump seeks to deport illegal immigrants.
“I met with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director] It was Tom Homan a few weeks ago,” Malliotakis said in an interview shortly after Trump took office on Monday.
“Chicago will be the first one, but New York will be right after that. So I don't know exactly how many days it will take.
“They're focused on criminals. They're focused on cartels, gang members, sex traffickers, drug traffickers,” she added. “They want to get rid of dangerous people in this country, and so do my constituents.”
Deportation raids were reportedly scheduled to begin as early as Tuesday in Chicago, but were postponed at the last minute to reinstate the element of surprise, multiple law enforcement officials told the Post.
This comes after the Post revealed that ICE is planning a “massive operation” in sanctuary cities, including the Big Apple, when Trump takes office again.
Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday the city would cooperate with federal authorities in raids planned to rid the city of violent criminals, but stressed the Trump administration's responsibility for immigration policy. .
“There are no restrictions on the NYPD working with various task forces regarding crime. There are no restrictions. Nothing has changed there. We will continue to work with all of our federal partners. Illegal activities. That's the case,” Hitzoner said a day after attending President Trump's inauguration in Washington.
Adams maintained that he has clearly stated in the past that “people who commit violent crimes in our city violate their right to live in our city and our country.”
“We will continue to work with ICE on criminal matters,” he said, adding that the federal government is “responsible for immigration policy.”
This comes after the Trump administration's border czar, Homan, blamed delays in Chicago on a leak and insisted there was no change to the overall enforcement plan.
“We're not going to reconsider any operations. There was a breach in Chicago, so we're investigating that breach and looking at how it impacts officer safety concerns.” “Chicago is not off the table, but we are reconsidering when and how to do it,” Homan told Fox News on Sunday.
“When those bad guys give us a warning that they're going to attack you at this time of day, it raises safety concerns for our officers.”
