NEW YORK — New York City lawmakers are suing to block Mayor Eric Adams from allowing federal immigration agents to operate within the Rikers Island jail complex.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the City Council, accuses Adams of agreeing to the plan to ''pay off" the Trump administration in exchange for dropping criminal charges against him.
It argues that the executive order, which allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to maintain office space at the jail, violates the city's prohibition on public officials using their office for personal benefit.
In an emailed statement, mayoral spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said the city would review the council's lawsuit. She added that it ''seems baseless and contrary to the public interest in protecting New Yorkers from violent criminals.''
Adams has repeatedly denied making any deal with the Trump administration over the criminal case.
ICE agents previously had a presence on the Rikers Island facility, which is on a hard-to-reach island in the East River, but they were effectively banned from operating there in 2014 under New York City's sanctuary laws.
In December last year, Adams told Fox News after a meeting with President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan that Homan would like access to Rikers, and his administration was looking into ''exceptions'' to the sanctuary law.
In February, following another meeting with Homan, Adams announced he would once again allow ICE agents in the jail complex to assist with gang and drug-related investigations.
