Tag Archives: New York City

Miami Herald: FEMA’s $64 Million Cut to NYC Sparks Fury

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Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has condemned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s $64 million cut to New York City’s security funding following a Manhattan shooting. Washington, D.C. has experienced a 44% reduction in funding, as cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles are also facing funding cuts. NYC Mayor Eric Adams is reportedly working to maximize federal resources amid the Trump administration’s widespread cuts to federal agency budgets.

Schumer stated that President Donald Trump “treats NY like his personal punching bag in an attempt to settle political scores — and failing to release NY’s critical anti-terrorism funds is stooping to a new low.”

New York Mayor Eric Adams’ spokesperson Liz Garcia said, “We are committed to securing every federal dollar that New Yorkers deserve.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) plans to question Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, warning that political motives may risk public safety. She stated, “I would ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the funding cuts, adding that it is possible the agency is risking New Yorkers’ safety as a political power move.”

Amid the fight for security funding, NYC Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has come under fire for reportedly spending over $33,000 on private security throughout his campaign. Critics condemned the spending, citing his 2020 calls to defund the police.

In 2020, Mamdani wrote, “We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti‑queer & a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD. But your compromise uses budget tricks to keep as many cops as possible on the beat. NO to fake cuts – defund the police.” He added, “We need a socialist city council to defund the police.”

Mamdani added, “The New York City Council tried to make the NYPD reduce its overtime budget by half. They simply refused. There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence.”

FEMA’s $64 Million Cut to NYC Sparks Fury

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fema-s-64-million-cut-to-nyc-sparks-fury/ss-AA1KyL6W

News Nation: NYC student, 7, and family detained by ICE: ‘Should be getting ready for school’

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New York Attorney General Letitia James also took to social media, saying, “This administration is ripping families apart. It’s cruel, inhumane, and wrong.”

ICE is detaining a 7-year-old girl and her immediate family, sources confirmed to Nexstar’s WPIX Saturday morning.

The 7-year-old, a student at a New York City Public School, and her mother were sent to an ICE detention center in Texas. Her 19-year-old brother remains in ICE custody in New Jersey, officials said.

“It is disgusting that a child would be taken into ICE detention this way,” Queens City Councilman Shekat Krishanan said in an interview with WPIX. “She should be with her mom, getting ready for school in a couple of weeks. She should be buying school supplies.”

This is the first known ICE arrest of a New York City child under 18, Krishnan said in a social media post.

The student’s name, which is not being released due to her age, was a student at Public School 89 in Queens.

The detention, first reported by the nonprofit news outlet The City, isn’t the first time ICE has detained a New York City public school student after they had been in the vicinity of the federal building.

WPIX did not immediately receive a response from federal authorities regarding the detainments but, according to a Department of Homeland Security statement shared with The City, the girl’s mother illegally entered the U.S. from Ecuador in 2022.

Mamadou Diallo, another New York City student, was detained by ICE during a routine hearing, City Council Member Lincoln Restler said.‘

Other cases of New York City students being detained have also been reported, prompting New York City Public Schools to issue the following statement:

“New York City Public Schools stands with all of our students, and we are committed to supporting every child and family in our system. When we hear about a family that is being detained, we have – with their permission – connected them with community and agency partners who can offer legal support and other resources. We want to reassure all families: our schools are safe, welcoming places, and we encourage you to continue sending your children to school, where they are cared for and valued.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James also took to social media, saying, “This administration is ripping families apart. It’s cruel, inhumane, and wrong.”

NYC student, 7, and family detained by ICE: ‘Should be getting ready for school’
It is believed to be the first ICE arrest of a child under the age of 18 in New York City.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/nyc-student-7-and-family-detained-by-ice-should-be-getting-ready-for-school/amp

The Hill: [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi ramps up pressure on 32 ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’: Who’s on the list?

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Attorney General Pam [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi said Thursday she was ramping up pressure on 32 “sanctuary jurisdictions,” urging them to comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

“I just sent Sanctuary City letters to 32 mayors around the country and multiple governors saying, you better be abiding by our federal policies and with our federal law enforcement, because if you aren’t, we’re going to come after you,” she told a Fox News reporter. 

“And they have, I think, a week to respond to me, so let’s see who responds and how they respond. It starts at the top, and our leaders have to support our law enforcement,” she added. 

The measure comes after an Aug. 5 release from the Justice Department highlighting various states, cities and counties deemed noncompliant with regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.

“For too long, so-called sanctuary jurisdiction policies have undermined this necessary cooperation and obstructed federal immigration enforcement, giving aliens cover to perpetrate crimes in our communities and evade the immigration consequences that federal law requires,” [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi wrote in the letter to officials across the country. 

“Any sanctuary jurisdiction that continues to put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens can either come to the table or see us in court,” [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi wrote in a post announcing the move. 

She cited a late April executive order from President Trump as legal grounds for the push. 

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for the 32 jurisdictions that received letters from [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi. 

The below jurisdictions received a letter from the Department of Justice on Aug. 5:

States:

  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Illinois
  • Minnesota
  • Nevada
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Washington

Counties:

  • Baltimore County, Md.
  • Cook County, Ill.
  • San Diego County, Calif.
  • San Francisco County, Calif.

Cities:

  • Albuquerque, N.M.
  • Berkeley, Calif.
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Denver
  • District of Columbia
  • East Lansing, Mich.
  • Hoboken, N.J.
  • Jersey City, N.J.
  • Los Angeles
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Newark, N.J.
  • Paterson, N.J.
  • Philadelphia
  • Portland, Ore.
  • Rochester, N.Y.
  • Seattle
  • San Francisco City

Pam Bimbo #3 Bondi is one of the stupidest women on Earth. Despite already losing a couple such cases on well-established Tenth Amendment grounds, she is now threatening to replicate her failures in 12 states, 4 counties, and 19 cities. When God passed out brains, Pam Bimbo #3 Bondi must have been hanging out near the manure spreader.

The bottom line is that the federal government can’t compel state and local governments to do its bidding. If the state and local governments don’t wish to comply or assist, the federal government must do its own dirty work.

Bondi ramps up pressure on 32 ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’: Who’s on the list?

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5454204-bondi-immigration-enforcement-urge

Raw Story: ‘Please disregard!’ ICE kills lucrative bonuses within hours of reporters asking questions

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, announced this week that it was offering “cash bonuses” to help meet President Donald Trump’s quotas for deportation targets.

However, The New York Times reported Tuesday that once they started asking questions, the announcement was quickly withdrawn.

ICE announced Tuesday morning it would implement a 30-day pilot program, offering agents a bonus for deporting individuals more quickly. The agreement would pay $200 for each immigrant that a law enforcement officer can deport within seven days of being arrested. They’ll get $100 if they get the migrant out in two weeks, the memo said.

According to the memo, agents are encouraged to “maximize” their bonuses by “using a fast-track process known as expedited removal, which allows immigrants without legal status to be deported without court proceedings.”

It comes at a time when ICE is facing problems in the courts because they are alleging crimes but not allowing the accused the due process allotted to them in the courts.

It took less than four hours for ICE to kill the program.

“PLEASE DISREGARD,” said a follow-up email from Liana J. Castano, an official in ICE’s field operations division, the Times reported.

When the Times requested a comment from the national Department of Homeland Security, the spokesperson said that the program isn’t in effect. The email canceling it was sent out not long after.

The Times said the idea only draws attention to the struggle for the administration to meet aggressive targets. Already, the agency has offered $50,000 signing bonuses as it tries to hire another 10,000 agents.

Trump said during the 2024 campaign that he would only deport criminals, but the administration has done the opposite, arresting people off the street who look like immigrants. The CATO Institute revealed that one in five of those arrested has no criminal history.

In July, a lower court blocked ICE agents from racially profiling the people it was arresting. Last week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to lift a temporary restraining order that blocks immigration officers from targeting a person based on their job or the language they’re speaking.

https://www.rawstory.com/ice-cash-bonus

Guardian: Trump administration cuts New York City’s anti-terrorism funding days after skyscraper attack

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Federal Emergency Management Agency says city will receive $64m less this year from its urban area security fund

The Trump administration said it would cut terrorism prevention funding for New York City, according to a grant notice posted days after a gunman killed four people inside a Manhattan skyscraper.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) stated in a grant notice posted on Friday that New York City would receive $64m less this year from its urban area security fund. The amount was listed in a single line of an 80-page Fema notice on the grant program.

US Congress created the program to help cities prevent terrorist attacks.

“It makes absolutely no sense, and no justification has been given to cut NY’s allocation given the rise in the threat environment,” a spokesperson for the New York state division of homeland security and emergency services said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

Manhattan has been the site of two attacks on high-profile corporate executives in the last year. The most recent attack came from a gunman armed with an assault-style rifle in late July, who killed four people inside an office building that houses the headquarters of the NFL and several major financial firms.

New York governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, highlighted the attack in her late July letter to the US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, asking why the Trump administration had not announced the amounts each city would receive from the program this year. Fema is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Noem’s office did not respond to two messages from Reuters asking why the federal government cut New York’s funding.

In December 2024, the chief executive of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was shot dead on the street in Manhattan in a targeted attack. And security has been particularly tight in New York City ever since the al-Qaida terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, which killed almost 3,000 people in lower Manhattan when Islamist extremists flew hijacked passenger jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

Fema uses “an analysis of relative risk of terrorism” to decide how much money cities will receive, according to the grant notice posted on Friday. The agency may change the amounts later, according to the notice.

The Mamdani effect: how his win spurred more than 10,000 progressives to consider run for officeRead more

In 2023, the agency considered city visitor counts, population density and proximity to international borders, among other factors, to determine the totals, according to a report signed by then Fema administrator Deanne Criswell.

Fema has been decreasing terrorism prevention money for New York City each year since at least fiscal year 2022. The drop is much more drastic this year at 41% year-over-year.

The New York City police department has used the funding in the past to pay for the Domain Awareness System, a network of cameras, license plate readers and detection devices, according to a 2016 statement from the former mayor Bill de Blasio’s office.

Trump administration cuts New York City’s anti-terrorism funding days after skyscraper attack
Federal Emergency Management Agency says city will receive $64m less this year from its urban area security fund

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/05/new-york-city-anti-terrorism-funding-trump-cuts

Fox News: Trump admin cutting $20M in DC security funding after federal law enforcement ordered to increase presence

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‘If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take federal control of the city,’ Trump said

The Trump administration plans to cut millions in security funding for Washington, D.C., despite the president also directing federal law enforcement to increase its presence in the city because of its “totally out of control” crime.

In a grant notice posted last week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said that D.C.’s urban security fund would receive $25.2 million, a 44% year-over-year reduction.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, said on Friday it slashed funds to multiple cities to be consistent with the “current threat landscape.” Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Jersey City also had their security funds cut, but the decrease in D.C. was the largest for any urban area that received funding from the program last fiscal year.

DHS has “observed a shift from large-scale, coordinated attacks like 9/11 to simpler, small-scale assaults, heightening the vulnerability of soft targets and crowded spaces in urban areas.”

Violent crime in D.C. dropped by 35% between 2023 and 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. said in December, stating that there were 3,388 incidents last year compared to 5,215 incidents the year before.

Crimes that saw significant drops last year included homicide, which was down 30%, sexual abuse down 22% and assault with a dangerous weapon down 27%. Robberries and burglaries slightly dropped to 8% for both.

The federal funding covers security needs in the National Capital Region, which includes D.C. and surrounding cities in Maryland and Virginia.

FEMA has $553.5 million to spend to support cities across the U.S. to boost security. It is unclear how much of the National Capital Region’s total security budget comes from that program.

In the past, local officials have used federal funds for hazmat training, hiring officers and replacing fiber in their emergency communications network, according to a 2016 report from D.C.’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.

On Thursday, Trump directed federal law enforcement to increase their presence in the nation’s capital, following a string of violent crimes, including an incident in which former DOGE staffer Edward Coristine, nicknamed “Big Balls”, was beaten in the city’s streets earlier this week.

“Crime in Washington, D.C., is totally out of control,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Local ‘youths’ and gang members, some only 14, 15, and 16-years-old, are randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent Citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released. They are not afraid of Law Enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them, but it’s going to happen now!”

The president said that the nation’s capital “must be safe, clean, and beautiful for all Americans and, importantly, for the World to see.”

“If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore,” he continued. “Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime.”

So King Donald and his suck-ups are whining about crime in D.C. (which has actually been decreasing significantly!) while they cut security funding for D.C.? Go figure!

Trump admin cutting $20M in DC security funding after federal law enforcement ordered to increase presence
The Trump administration plans to cut $20 million in security funding for Washington, D.C., according to a grant notice.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/trump-admin-cutting-20m-dc-security-funding-federal-law-enforcement-ordered-increase-presence

Raw Story: Appeals court rules against Trump admin in big case — and gives deadline to comply

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A federal appeals court ruled over the weekend that Donald Trump’s administration’s moves on government spending are an affront to the Constitution and disclosure laws, according to Politico.

According to the outlet, the three-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel voted unanimously to “shoot down a Trump administration bid to make secret a public database of federal spending that researchers say is crucial to ensure the administration is not flouting Congress’ power of the purse.” The court also imposed a deadline, according to the report.

The court reportedly gave “the administration until Friday to put the data back online.”

“Two of the three appeals judges assigned to the matter also signed onto a forceful opinion declaring that the administration’s bid to conceal the data was an affront to Congress’ authority over government spending, one that threatened the separation of powers and defied centuries of evidence that public disclosure is necessary for the public good,” according to the report.

Politico further noted that, “Judge Karen Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee, wrote in support of the decision to deny the Trump administration’s request to keep the data under wraps while litigation over the issue goes forward,” and quoted her as saying, “No court would allow a losing party to defy its judgment. No President would allow a usurper to command our armed forces.”

She added, “And no Congress should be made to wait while the Executive intrudes on its plenary power over appropriations.”

Appeals court rules against Trump admin in big case — and gives deadline to comply

https://www.rawstory.com/appeals-court-rules-against-trump

Washington Examiner: Judge blocks ICE deportation strategy for paroled immigrants

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A federal judge on Friday blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “expedited removal” deportation strategy to detain paroled immigrants as quickly as possible.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb of the District of Columbia ruled that the Trump administration’s use of expedited removal exceeded the Department of Homeland Security’s legal authority, in addition to being arbitrary and capricious. The order temporarily halts the federal government’s efforts to deport immigrants previously paroled into the United States at a port of entry.

Cobb specifically blocked three actions: a DHS memo dated Jan. 23 directing immigration officials to apply expedited removal as broadly as possible; an ICE directive dated Feb. 18 authorizing officers to consider expedited removal for “paroled arriving aliens”; and a DHS notice dated March 25 terminating the Biden-era parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans.

The court took issue with the administration’s actions to dismiss parole immigrants’ pending proceedings in immigration court and proceed to arrest them outside the courtroom afterward.

“This case’s underlying question, then, asks whether parolees who escaped oppression will have the chance to plead their case within a system of rules,” Cobb wrote in the 84-page ruling. “Or, alternatively, will they be summarily removed from a country that, as they are swept up at checkpoints and outside courtrooms, often by plainclothes officers without explanation or charges, may look to them more and more like the countries from which they tried to escape?”

Such an incident occurred in June, when New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested for refusing to leave an immigrant whose case was dismissed moments earlier. Lander and his companion were both restrained by masked plainclothes officers as seen in a viral video.

A growing number of Democratic lawmakers have since crafted legislation to bar ICE officers from wearing masks, which the agency says are used to protect its officers from getting doxxed.

Friday’s order is estimated to affect “hundreds of thousands of paroled aliens,” Cobb wrote.

The Trump administration criticized the ruling, saying it defies a Supreme Court ruling from May that upheld the termination of parole status for more than 530,000 illegal immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

“Judge Cobb is flagrantly ignoring the United States Supreme Court, which upheld expedited removals of illegal aliens by a 7-2 majority,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “This ruling is lawless and won’t stand.”

Whine, bitch, whine!

Judge blocks ICE deportation strategy for paroled immigrants
“This ruling is lawless and won’t stand,” the Department of Homeland Security said in response.
Judge blocks ICE deportation strategy for paroled immigrants

Global News: 18-year-old detained by ICE told he had no rights, despite U.S. citizenship

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A high school senior who was detained by ICE in Florida in May while his mother was driving him and two of his teenage colleagues to work is speaking out about the violent altercation in which he was told — despite being an American citizen — that he had no rights.

Footage of 18-year-old Kenny Laynez’s violent arrest, reportedly captured on his cellphone, shows an officer telling him, “You got no rights here. You’re an amigo, brother.”

Laynez was born and raised in the United States.

Speaking to CBS News, he said, “It hurts me, hearing them saying that I have no rights here because I look like, um, you know, Hispanic, I’m Hispanic.”

According to Laynez, the car was pulled over because there were too many passengers riding in the front seat, and two passengers, his co-workers, were undocumented, he said.

Footage shows officers using a Taser while detaining the teens, both of whom Laynez says he has not been able to contact since.

“We’re not resisting. We’re not committing any crime to, you know, run away,” Laynez said, recalling the incident.

The high schooler’s phone kept recording after he had been arrested and picked up a conversation between officers where they were discussing shooting the detainees.

“They’re starting to resist more. We’re gonna end up shooting some of them,” one officer says to another.

“Just remember, you can smell that too with a $30,000 bonus,” another officer responded.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection told CBS in a statement that Laynez and his co-workers “resisted arrest” and claimed that immigration agents are experiencing a rise in assaults on the job.

The statement did not mention that a U.S. citizen had been detained, the outlet added.

Laynez recalled events as Florida prepares to deploy 1,800 more law enforcement officers to execute immigration raids ordered by the Trump administration.

Mariana Blanco, the director at the Guatemalan Maya Center, an advocacy group opposing Florida’s pursuit of immigrants, told CBS that, “laws are just… they’re no longer being respected.

“Deputizing these agents so quickly it is going to bring severe consequences,” she added.

Laynez is just one of a handful of young people to be arrested by ICE, seemingly without cause.

In June, students and staff at a high school in Massachusetts staged a post-graduation protest after U.S. immigration authorities detained a pupil who was scheduled to perform with the school’s band during the ceremony.

Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, 18, was driving his father’s car to volleyball practice the day before the ceremony with some of his teammates when he was pulled over by immigration authorities.

Officers said they were looking for Gomes Da Silva’s father, who, according to Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, is residing illegally in the U.S.

During the stop, authorities determined that Gomes Da Silva was also unlawfully in the country and detained him. According to his friends, Gomes Da Silva was born in Brazil but has attended Milford Public Schools in the Boston area since the age of six.

The teen’s arrest coincided with the final day of a far-reaching, month-long illegal immigration clampdown in Massachusetts, coined Operation Patriot, that saw nearly 1,500 people deemed “criminal aliens” detained.

Gomes Da Silva returned home after several days in ICE detainment after a judge released him on a $2,000 bond.

18-year-old detained by ICE told he had no rights, despite U.S. citizenship – National | Globalnews.ca
Footage of 18-year-old Kenny Laynez’s violent arrest, reportedly captured on his phone, shows an officer telling him, “You got no rights here. You’re an amigo, brother.”
18-year-old detained by ICE told he had no rights, despite U.S. citizenship

Bradenton Herald: City Council Considers Revoking Permit in Blow to ICE

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The Portland City Council is reportedly considering revoking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s permit for the South Waterfront facility due to concerns regarding unlawful detentions exceeding 12 hours. Community unrest has risen amid reports of intimidation and policy violations linked to ICE operations. The council has responded by reviewing legal options in light of resident pressure for more humane immigration enforcement.

At the latest hearing, residents reported intimidation and attacks linked to ICE agents, claiming they have violated Portland’s sanctuary policy. Critics argued that ICE has disrupted housing and schools.

Protests outside the facility escalated, with federal agents using tear gas and rubber bullets. Rising vandalism has further strained tensions between residents and authorities.

City Council Member Angelita Morillo claimed that tolerating ICE’s actions could set a dangerous precedent. Morillo said, “If we allow ICE to continue to operate when they have violated their permits, that means that anything becomes permissible moving forward.”

Portland, Oregon: City Council Considers Revoking Permit in Blow to ICE

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/city-council-considers-revoking-permit-in-blow-to-ice/ss-AA1JirF2