New York City Clergy Call on Elected Officials to Hold ICE Agents Accountable
This fall, in response to the occupation of several US cities and escalating raids on our streets, over 40 New York City clergy have signed an open letter a letter to Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul urging them to take immediate action to protect New Yorkers from assault and unlawful detention by the Department of Homeland Security and their militarized ICE agents. The signatories represent several denominations and traditions and thousands of their congregants from across the five boroughs.
This letter builds on State Senator Julia Salazar’s call in October for local government to intervene against the federal government’s racist and illegal attacks on New Yorkers. It is also in alignment with Mayor-Elect Mamdani’s unequivocal statement on November 5 that “everyone will be held to the same standard of the law. If you violate the law, you must be held accountable.”
We welcome Mr. Mamdani’s statement, and hold him accountable to follow through on this promise. We hope to see other elected officials in New York and across the country take similar stands and back them up with concrete actions. As we saw last weekend, these raids are not stopping anytime soon, and we urge local leadership to protect New Yorkers.
Our letter contains six concrete demands for our elected officials:
1. Declare that prosecutors will charge federal agents for unlawful conduct or the violation of civil rights.
2. Create an independent commission to collect complaints, take testimony, and publish findings on misconduct by federal immigration agents.
3. Create a statewide rapid-response legal defense infrastructure so that New Yorkers can learn their rights and access emergency representation.
4. Coordinate with the NY AG for injunctions when raids violate state law or constitutional rights.
5. Require state or city officers participating in any joint federal action to use body cams, log participation, and provide post-operation reports to an inspector-general while also barring state participation if federal partners refuse these safeguards.
6. Use state and city regulators to inspect any facility used to hold people within our state borders and publish violations of accepted standards.
The full letter and a list of signatories can be found here.
As faith leaders in this city of immigrants, our moral imperative to speak out on this issue is clear. Our message is simple: ICE is not welcome on our streets, abducting and assaulting our community members.
We welcome other New York City clergy to sign on to the open letter by filling out this form.
In solidarity,
The Community Church of New York Ministry Team
