President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan and New York City Mayor Eric Adams coordinated to arrest 27 Tren de Aragua members and associates as part of a monthslong investigation.

In a Tuesday press conference alongside Homan, Adams said the group was arrested on firearm offenses, racketeering conspiracy, and drug and sex trafficking charges. The operation and its publicity further solidify Adams’s alliance with the Trump administration.

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“Today, we announced another gang takedown in our city — this one the result of our local and federal partners working together to keep New Yorkers SAFE. The defendants in this case include members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang,” Adams announced in a post on X.

The mayor said the operation was the culmination of an investigation into an attack against two New York City Police Department officers last year. The 27 arrestees came from across the country.

Six targets were members of the gang, while 21 were part of a violent splinter group called anti-Tren, according to prosecutors.

“Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang — it is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement, adding that the arrests “will devastate TdA’s infrastructure” in three states.

At the Manhattan press conference, Adams praised the work of the Trump administration, thanking them for being partners in fighting crime.

“We have taken them down and we will continue to fight violent transnational crimes with the full force of the law,” he said. “It’s good to have partners in the federal agencies who are joining us in this priority on how important it is to keep our city safe.”

The press conference also highlighted the ongoing controversy regarding a joint effort to open a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Rikers Island, the city’s largest jail complex. State Supreme Court Justice Mary Rosado signed a temporary restraining order on Monday prohibiting Adams from carrying out the executive action in response to a lawsuit from the New York City Council.

Homan argued on Tuesday that the center was a necessity, and the lack of one would lead to more problems.

“When ICE officers… have to go into the community to arrest the bad guy, a public safety threat, a national security threat, that means more officers in your neighborhood, that means more collateral arrests,” he said. “Give us access to the person that you locked in the jail cell.”

The New York City Council argued in its lawsuit that Adams cooperated unlawfully with the Trump administration to target illegal immigrants in exchange for the federal government dropping corruption charges against him.

Adams, however, argued that an ICE center on Rikers Island has longstanding precedent, with added necessity due to the influx of immigrants over the past few years.

“We are now working on implementing an executive order that will reestablish the ability for ICE agents to operate on Rikers Island — as was the case for 20 years — but now, instead, ICE agents would specifically be focused on assisting the correctional intelligence bureau in their criminal investigations, in particular those focused on violent criminals and gangs,” Adams said in February.

JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS ERIC ADAMS FROM COOPERATING WITH ICE ON NYC’S RIKERS ISLAND

“Since the spring of 2022, New York City has been forced to shoulder the burden of a national humanitarian crisis where more than 230,000 migrants have come to our city seeking support, at a cost of approximately $7 billion, with little help from the previous administration,” he continued. “That is why I have been clear that I want to work with the new federal administration, not war with them, to find common ground and make better the lives of New Yorkers.”

The U.S. has escalated operations against Tren de Aragua since Trump took office, buoyed by fears of the gang that spread across the Americas due to the Venezuelan refugee crisis. The president designated the group a terrorist organization in an executive order.