With the Big Apple overrun with tens of thousands of illegal aliens who were shipped there, Mayor Eric Adams is walking a political fence. The Democrat-dominated city views illegals as refugees who should be welcomed and not turned away, but the city government is spending millions of dollars to house and feed them.
Then came the mob-like attack on NPYD officers in late January, when a gang of illegal aliens from Venezuela jumped two police officers in Times Square. In all, surveillance footage shows eight suspects kicking and punching the cops. The four who were arrested were released without bail, including a 22-year-old who rubbed salt in the wound when he grinned and flipped off reporters after he was freed.
“You have eight people attacking a lieutenant and a cop,” John Chell, the NYPD chief of patrol, told reporters. “The four that were arrested should be sitting in Rikers [Island] right now on bail.”
Just days after that incident, a story by The New York Post reported a pilot program costing $53 million would hand out pre-paid debit cards to 500 illegal aliens to allow them to buy groceries and other basics. That plan was set to expand the program to help approximately 15,000 illegals who were being housed in hotels around the city.
At a Feb. 26 town hall meeting, where he took questions, Mayor Adams was forced to deal with the attack on the police officers by the Venezuelans.
“We need to modify the sanctuary city law that if you commit a felony or violent act, we should be able to turn you over to ICE and have you deported,” Adams told the audience. “It is a right to live in this city."
Reacting to Adams at the town hall, Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin called the Mayor's comments a "stunning turnaround" for the Democrat.
Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, says Adams has been mayor for two years while waves of illegal aliens have flooded the city.
“He's had plenty of opportunity to act, just like President Biden has had plenty of opportunity,” Mehlman says. "So I guess things have gotten to a point where it's just unsustainable."
The next step is for Mayor Adams to back up his words with action, Mehlman adds, but that won't matter if the Biden administration refuses to cooperate, he says.
