Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio claimed that not asking about one’s immigration status is part of the necessary steps to “keep people safe,” adding that his argument is backed up by leaders in the New York City Police Department.

President Donald Trump has granted deportation powers to a variety of federal law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, aiming to fulfill his campaign promise of mass deportations of illegal immigrants across the nation. De Blasio, who was mayor of New York City during Trump’s first term, said in an interview that states and localities can work to resist Trump’s deportation plans, arguing it is within their power to “govern our own affairs.”

“So, for example, if you have a city like New York that says, ‘We’re not going to ask documentation status in our schools, hospitals or with our police force’ talking to people out in the streets, they’re not going to ask documentation status, because that’s how we actually keep people safe,” Adams said on MSNBC. “Talk to NYPD leaders, and they’ll tell you once you start asking people documentation status, no one’s going to talk to you if they happen to have an undocumented status, and that means you can’t protect the community.”

When asked what Democrats can do regarding the Trump administration’s warnings of legal consequences for resisting deportation, de Blasio contended that “the court system will decide a lot of this.” He also argued that some of Trump’s new executive orders are “clearly unconstitutional,” specifically suggesting Trump could lose on his challenge to end birthright citizenship. 

De Blasio also suggested that support for Trump’s deportations could dwindle from the public as time goes on, claiming that voters were frustrated over the “disorder” of the nation’s border security and are currently fully behind deporting illegal immigrants who are also criminals. However, this support will be “quickly replaced” by disapproval and discomfort from the public.

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The former mayor announced a congressional run in May 2022 but ended up dropping out about two months later. His run for Congress followed a failed presidential bid in 2020, in which he was ordered in 2023 to repay $475,000 to New York City for funds used in his push for the White House.

Amid Trump’s mass deportations, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove directed U.S. attorneys to investigate state and local jurisdictions that fail to enforce immigration laws. Since Trump’s inauguration on Monday, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested over 460 illegal immigrants, primarily with criminal or gang-related backgrounds.