NEW YORK CITY — A New York City department appears to oppose President Donald Trump’s ongoing tactics to manage foreign inhabitants through executive orders. Within the NYPD, an internal memorandum advises its police officers against supporting federal execution of immigration laws in the city’s five boroughs.
The core value for every service member, according to this memorandum, is remembering the division between managing criminal activities and imposing civil immigration laws. The mandate underlines that the enforcement of criminal laws happens regardless of an individual’s immigration position in the USA.
Further, the memo emphasizes that an individual’s presence in the country without proper authorization is a civil concern, not a criminal offense. Per the NYPD’s memo, local laws forbid utilizing city resources to implement civil provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Police officers are enjoined not to participate or aid in civil immigration enforcement actions. This includes notifying US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials about an individual’s location who may be sought by these authorities, or detaining someone so that ICE agents can take them into custody.
The memo also reminds officers not to obstruct civil immigration enforcement operations. However, the NYPD officers should engage only if there’s an immediate threat to public safety. They are also authorized to defend a federal civil immigration official from physical harm if required.
In case NYPD officers encounter federal immigration officials, they should report the interaction to their supervisory chain. This newly-issued memo is reinforcing a policy that the NYPD already adheres to, according to data available.
From January 1 to September 30, the NYPD received ICE’s 35 detainer requests, but none of these applications were recognized. This falls inline with the NYPD’s established response policy.
Earlier, New York City Public Schools also circulated a similar directive expressing its intention to enlighten school transportation staff on how to respond if federal immigration officials approach the buses. The educational body affirmed its dedication towards every student’s right to access public education – notwithstanding the student’s immigration status, native country, or religious beliefs.
Coming to President Trump’s official actions since his office tenure began on January 20: He suspended the U.S. Customs and Border Protection application, an orderly method for individuals to initiate seeking asylum. He ended birthright citizenship, a law which guarantees U.S.-born offspring as citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration standing.
Moreover, pathways have been identified to execute the president’s broad deportation promise of ‘millions and millions’ of people. Earlier this Wednesday, Tom Homan, Trump’s border affairs adviser, shared with Fox News that 308 arrests had been performed nationwide by ICE.
On the same day, travel for refugees – who had gained clearance to travel to the U.S – was called off by President Trump. Thousands were affected, including 1,600 Afghan allies from America’s war effort and U.S military personnel’s family members according to the Associate Press reports.
This week, the House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, a bipartisan-backed act, with a 263-156 vote. The act mandates that unauthorized immigrants who are accused of theft and violent crimes be detained; it is titled after a Georgian nursing scholar who was killed by a Venezuelan man in 2024. This law is expected to be the first one President Trump will authenticate in his new term.
Many entities, including celebrities and organizations, have publicly requested President Trump to halt. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee objected to one of President Trump’s executive orders, alleging that it, in essence, is a replica of the 2017 ‘Muslim ban.’ ICE officers have carried out raids on Staten Island in the past, with arrests taking place in 2017, 2019, and 2020.