De Blasio Denies Feds' Claim He Crossed Border Illegally

NEW YORK, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio denied federal officials' claims that he crossed the southern U.S. border illegally during a visit last month, calling the allegations "absolutely ridiculous."

"It is another attempt to distract from an inhumane policy," de Blasio said Wednesday after an unrelated event in Brooklyn.

De Blasio, a Democrat, was among a group from the U.S. Conference of Mayors that tried unsuccessfully to visit a Tornillo, Texas facility on June 21 where immigrant children were being held.

The mayors made the trek to call attention to the Trump administration's zero tolerance immigration policy, which has reportedly caused more than 2,000 kids to be separated from their families.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection claimed in a letter to NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill that de Blasio and his security detail illegally crossed into the U.S. from Mexico on foot, then drove back into Mexico without permisson from border agents, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

De Blasio said the group wanted get some view of the facility — which he called a "tent city" — so his security detail asked border agents about crossing into Mexico. The agents agreed and let vehicles cross at a "normal checkpoint," the mayor said.

"When we were there we were told where the border line was and we respected it," de Blasio said. "We came back the exact same way — both times showed passports, went through with the approval of the agents at the entry point."

"At no point did we disregard any instructions from federal authorities, period," the mayor added.

De Blasio's account of the episode differs from the reported narrative in the federal officials' letter.

The letter says a border agent noticed a group of people taking photos south of the Tornillo Port of Entry, according to the Associated Press. When asked, an NYPD inspector told the agent no one had authorized their presence, and the agent said they had crossed the border illegally, the AP reported.

The agent reportedly asked the group to wait while he fetched a supervisor and brought them to be inspected at an official border crossing, the story says, but they "disregarded the order and drove back to Mexico."

The letter was reportedly sent June 25. De Blasio said it was an attempt by the Trump administration to distract from its family separation policy, which the mayor has persistently criticized.

"Threats by the Trump administration will not stop me from speaking out, and they won’t stop my fellow mayors from speaking out, and they won’t stop everyday New Yorkers and Americans from speaking out," de Blasio said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story initially misstated where de Blasio and others drove without permission from border agents. They drove to Mexico, not the U.S.

(Lead image: Mayor Bill de Blasio stops at a gate in Texas after being told he could not visit a facility being used to house immigrant children. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)