The mayors of Philadelphia and New York City have positioned their cities into a posture of willingness to help the incoming Trump administration with its plan to deport illegal immigrants, a marked departure from President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office, NBC News reported Sunday.
New York Democrat Mayor Eric Adams has voiced a willingness to work with the Trump administration in the aftermath of his election victory, meeting with border czar Tom Homan last month and visiting with Trump on Friday in Florida.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and District Attorney Larry Krasner, both Democrats, have also softened their stance on the city’s status as a sanctuary city.
“Sanctuary city can mean a lot of things, and so that whole discussion can get confusing and maybe generate more heat than light,” Krasner told NBC News.
He added, “To the extent that ICE has the legal right to do things, obviously we will not interfere.”
Parker has said she's willing to sit down with Trump, as Adams did last week.
It’s a departure from 2016, when then-Philly Mayor Jim Kenney vowed the city would remain a sanctuary city one week after Trump won that election. Kenny issued ICE detainers, barring the city from honoring ICE requests to hold an illegal immigrant an extra 48 hours for the purpose of taking the migrant into federal custody. That policy remains in place, Philly officials told NBC News.
New York and Philadelphia stand in contrast to Chicago and Denver, whose mayors stand defiant in the face of federal deportation operations that inevitably are coming their way, perhaps as early as Tuesday in the case of Chicago.
Chicago Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson has said the city “will not bend or break” on sanctuary laws and will not cooperate with ICE deportations. The Chicago City Council last week reaffirmed sanctuary policies.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has said the city won’t “be bullied” into changing sanctuary policies and has suggested preventing ICE from entering the city for the purpose of deporting illegal migrants.
“Denver defines itself as a welcoming city and we do have laws on the books, both city and state, that ensure that local police do not do the work of federal immigration enforcement. That’s the federal government’s job, not ours," Johnston spokesperson Jordan Fuja said in a statement to NBC News.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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