NYC Issues Order To Allow ICE Agents On Rikers Island

NEW YORK CITY — ICE agents and other federal immigration officials will be allowed to reopen offices on Rikers Island after an executive order was signed by the Adams' administration on Tuesday.

According to the executive order, federal agencies will support local law enforcement in its efforts against international gangs and criminal enterprises such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua that have been designated by as foreign terrorist organizations.

“It is critical that federal law enforcement agencies are able to share intelligence with the Department of Correction and NYPD in real-time about criminal gang activity among individuals both inside and outside of DOC custody,” the order states.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, ATF and Homeland Security, among others, are authorized to have office space on the island.

The federal agencies will work with the city’s Correction Intelligence Bureau on investigations focused on “violent criminals and gangs, crimes committed at or facilitated by persons in DOC custody, and drug trafficking."

Trump's border czar Tom Homan praised the executive order in a post on X: “This is a great first step in our continuing collaboration to make NYC even safer, as President Trump has committed to."

The Legal Aid Society criticized the move in a statement:

“Granting ICE access to Rikers Island, a facility where New Yorkers—including noncitizens entitled to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence—are detained, is a severe breach of New York City’s sanctuary city principles and undermines essential constitutional due process rights that apply to all individuals, regardless of immigration status," they wrote.

“Instead of standing with and protecting our immigrant neighbors, Mayor Adams continues to support the new Administration’s cruel immigration policies, which have escalated in recent weeks."