A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Trump administration has ordered prosecutors to drop criminal corruption and bribery charges against New York City mayor Eric Adams. A Justice Department letter demanding the dismissal said the indictment was undermining the mayor's ability to cooperate with President Trump's immigration crackdown. Now, migrant communities are worried about what's to come, as Jon Campbell of member station WNYC reports from Albany.
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JON CAMPBELL, BYLINE: Several dozen immigrants are rallying shoulder to shoulder inside the state capitol in Albany. They boarded buses from New York City at the crack of dawn to press Governor Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers on immigration issues. But the person who's really on their mind now is New York's mayor. Jax Gutierrez is with Make the Road New York, the group that organized the rally.
JAX GUTIERREZ: The Trump administration, with Mayor Eric Adams as a puppet, is working hard to deport and tear apart families.
CAMPBELL: Trump's Justice Department ordered prosecutors to drop bribery and fraud charges against Adams while explicitly saying the decision wasn't based on the legal facts of the case. In the department's memo, the Deputy Attorney General said the charges were preventing Adams from devoting his full attention to combating illegal immigration, a major Trump initiative.
Democratic state Assembly member Karines Reyes of the Bronx was at the event. She says the mayor is currying favor with Trump to save his own career.
KARINES REYES: It's been very clear that he's been cozying up to the Trump administration to save his own ass. And unfortunately, that's not the job of the mayor. The mayor of New York City's job is to protect New Yorkers. And we don't feel protected.
CAMPBELL: New York City is a sanctuary city. That means there's a local law in place preventing the NYPD from cooperating with federal immigration agents in most cases. And the mayor can't overturn it on his own. But the emphasis on immigration in the DOJ memo is concerning to advocates for migrants. Whitney Hu is with the group Churches United for Fair Housing, which works with migrants. She says the city has always been a beacon for immigrants, and she worries the mayor is turning his back on that.
WHITNEY HU: We're seeing a real walk back of, like, what is meant to be a sanctuary city for New York City. And honestly, I'm just going to say, like, I think what it means to be a New Yorker.
CAMPBELL: Adams has cozied up to the Trump administration in recent weeks and reportedly told New York City officials to avoid criticizing the president or his policies. The mayor didn't directly address Trump's immigration stance in a brief speech following the DOJ memo, but he thanked the Justice Department for what he called its honesty.
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ERIC ADAMS: Now we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of our city.
CAMPBELL: In Albany, advocacy groups are worried. They're pushing for legislation that would prevent state and local authorities in New York from cooperating with ICE without a warrant signed by a judge. But the bill has stalled in the state legislature for more than two years. For his part, Mayor Adams faces a very tough re-election fight later this year. For NPR News, I'm Jon Campbell in Albany.
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