State and local Democratic Party elected officials across the country face a stark choice as President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office next year: cooperate with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan and his plan to deport criminal illegal immigrants, or defy federal law and face the wrath of voters. New York City Mayor Eric Adams wisely chose the first path.
When asked at a press conference Tuesday if he planned to cooperate or defy the Trump administration on mass deportations, Adams said he had every intention of working with the new Republican administration.
“I’m not going to be warring with this administration. I’m going to be working with this administration,” Adams told reporters. “I believe I have some ideas that could deal with this issue, and we can reach what the American people have been saying to us.”
“Secure our borders, address the people who are committing violent acts in our country, and make sure that our citizens are going to be safe,” he continued.
For his part, Homan graciously accepted Adams’s invitation to meet and exchange ideas.
“I’m willing to meet with him, and I’m willing to meet with anybody to help make their communities safer,” Homan said. “Prioritization out of the gate is public safety threats. Work with us on that. It makes your community safer. It keeps my officers safe. It keeps the community safe. Let’s work together and get this done.”
This is exactly the kind of cooperation the vast majority of voters want to see between state and local governments as the Trump administration follows through on its promise to mass deport illegal immigrants. While inflation may have been the top concern for most voters, immigration and the border were second, and post-election polling shows voters want Trump to tackle illegal immigration and mass deportations first.
Contrast Adams’s approach with that of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who recently promised to have every Denver police officer and 50,000 residents of the city ready to fight any federal immigration officer who tried to deport a single criminal alien.
“It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right?” Johnston bragged. “You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them.”
Johnston was roundly condemned for his comments and was forced to walk them back days later, regretfully telling a reporter, “Would I have taken it back if I could? Yes, I probably wouldn’t have used that image.”
Other Democrats are, unfortunately, following Johnston’s example. The Los Angeles City Council recently passed a new ordinance making it illegal for any city employee to help federal immigration law enforcement officials with the deportation of illegal immigrants, including criminal illegal immigrants. Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, introduced legislation that would send $60 million to cities and counties in the state that refused to cooperate with the Trump administration.
While a clear majority of voters are in favor of Trump’s mass deportation plan, the position is far less popular among Democratic primary voters and most members of the media. Adams acknowledged this Tuesday.
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“In the era of cancel culture,” Adams began, “people are afraid to be honest about the truth. Well, cancel me. Because I am going to protect the people of this city.”
If more elected Democratic Party officials had the courage to act like Adams and prioritize the safety of their constituents over the special interests of well-funded open-border groups, then many Democratic cities would be far safer than they are today.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
