U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing New York state, Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, accusing them of shielding illegal immigrants by failing to comply with immigration policy.
The lawsuit also names Mark Schroeder, head of the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Conspicuously absent from the lawsuit is New York City and its mayor, Eric Adams.
Newsweek reached out to the White House, the DOJ and Adams’ office for comment Wednesday night.
The Context
The DOJ’s decision to omit Adams and NYC from Wednesday’s legal action contrasts with its earlier lawsuit against Illinois, which included Chicago and its mayor, Brandon Johnson.
Yuki Iwamura and Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
What To Know
The lawsuit Bondi announced against New York specifically focuses on state-level policies, specifically its “green light” law, which allows people in the state to get a driver’s license regardless of whether they have citizenship or legal status.
Two days before the attorney general announced the lawsuit, a senior DOJ official directed federal prosecutors in New York to drop their bribery charges against Adams. That decision came after Adams’ lawyers met with DOJ officials after Trump took office, and after Adams traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump in Florida on January 17.
In ordering prosecutors to drop the corruption charges against Adams, the department cited concerns that the ongoing case was compromising the mayor’s ability to assist the Trump administration with its crackdown on illegal immigration.
The decision to drop the charges was outlined in a two-page memo by Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who said the prosecution was “unduly restricting” Adams’ ability to focus on critical issues like illegal immigration and violent crime.
Bove stressed that the dismissal was not based on the strength of evidence but on the timing of the charges, which, he said, were brought too close to the mayoral election. Adams was charged nine months before the June primary.
The memo instructed New York prosecutors to cease further investigative actions until after the November election, leaving the door open for the case to be revisited later. The charges against Adams stemmed from allegations that he accepted bribes in the form of lavish travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals during his time as president of the Brooklyn borough.
Adams’ legal team celebrated the dismissal, calling it a vindication of the mayor’s innocence, while his political opponents have accused him of collaborating with Trump to avoid legal consequences.
What People Are Saying
Bondi mentioned Adams during Wednesday’s news conference, telling reporters: “We’re hoping that in New York, that Mayor Adams is going to cooperate with us with the sanctuary cities and the illegal aliens.”
“This is a new DOJ. New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today,” Bondi added.
What Happens Next
As scrutiny intensifies, all eyes will be on how the courts handle these contrasting lawsuits.
