DHS Warns New York Mayor’s Sanctuary Compliance Audit Will Make Residents Less Safe
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed Bitta Mostofi, a former senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to lead an audit of six municipal agencies including the New York Police Department to assess compliance with sanctuary laws.
The move is part of an executive order Mamdani signed earlier this month designed to strengthen the city’s sanctuary laws in response to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns.
Mostofi, who now serves as special adviser to the deputy mayor, stated that the directive requires agency personnel to recommend changes to policies and protocols covering process, accountability, and transparency.
She cited former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration as the reason for the audit, noting that he undermined sanctuary laws. Under Adams, New York City’s Department of Investigation found employees at the NYPD and Department of Corrections violated sanctuary laws by sharing information with federal immigration authorities.
Adams also attempted to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to establish an office on Rikers Island, but the effort was blocked by courts.
New York’s sanctuary laws prohibit city employees from permitting ICE onto municipal property such as schools unless a judicial warrant for arrest is present.
Mostofi is auditing the departments of probation, social services, health, and the Administration for Children’s Services due to their potential interactions with federal immigration authorities.
The Department of Homeland Security has criticized Mamdani’s executive order, asserting it will make New Yorkers less safe. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that there are currently 7,113 criminal illegal aliens in New York jurisdiction with active detainers and urged the mayor to release these individuals to ICE before they return to communities.
“When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our officers must have a more visible presence to find and apprehend criminals released from jails,” McLaughlin added.
Once the audit reports are completed, the mayor’s office will implement new training protocols to strengthen sanctuary law compliance across agencies.
An official at one of the audited agencies questioned Mamdani’s motivations, stating that the executive order raises uncertainties about the administration’s policy direction and expectations for enforcement.
