Transcript: Mayor Adams Participates in Ethnic Media Engagement With 'Voice of South Asia TV'

April 4, 2025

Ali Abbas: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor, for joining us. First, I would like to ask you, you always have been a strong voice of the immigrant community. So now immigrants are being deported from the United States for many reasons. I want to know what would be your stance? How would you help immigrants? I mean, would you provide any legal assistance?

Mayor Eric Adams: Well, the city is very clear. Our city laws state we cannot collaborate with ICE or any civil enforcement. And we have lived up to that, and we're clear on that. And we need to be also very clear on what's playing out in our city.

We do not have immigration officials in our hospitals taking people and deporting them. We don't have it taking place in our houses of worship, our mosques, our churches, our synagogues. We don't have them in our schools. And so I think a lot of the anxiety is coming from people who want to create this anxiety.

I have said to the people in this city, documented and undocumented, continue to go to school with your children. Continue to go to work. Continue to get medical care. Continue to call on city services and agencies when you need them. That is what we should be focusing on right now. And if there was a shift in behavior or policies or actions from the federal government, I would let New Yorkers know that.

Right now, we're not seeing that. No one is being rounded up in their jobs or any other places. The federal government has made it clear to us, their focus right now is dealing with those who commit violent actions and taking them off our streets. I support that.

I support collaborating with federal agencies to go after dangerous people who are preying on migrants, undocumented people, documented people. No one wants criminal elements in their city.

Abbas: Okay, alright. There are many migrants' shelters have been closed, including the Roosevelt Hotel. So can you update us, how many shelters are remaining? Or what is the migrant crisis status right away?

Mayor Adams: Well, we've had over 230,000 migrants and asylum seekers in our city. Out of those 230,000, 190,000, we have been able to help and take the next step on their journey. That is an awesome achievement that we accomplished.

We still have a few thousand that are still in our care. We're going to continue to. We're going to continue to transition them to take the next step on their journey. That's the goal. No one comes to America to live in a shelter. They come to America to participate in the American dream. And we want to assist them in doing so.

Abbas: A few months ago, we had a statement from your side that you did not [leave] the Democratic Party. So now you have announced to run an election as an Independent. So I want to know what would be your policy. It would reflect a Democratic or it would reflect Republican or it would be something new for the New Yorkers?

Mayor Adams: I am a Democrat and I'm going to run as a Democrat. And I've made that clear over and over again. That's who I am. I'm going to continue to run as a Democrat. I would have loved to have run in the Democratic primary where we collected over 25,000 signatures. But this case dragged on longer than what I believe it should have.

It took three weeks before the judge. He made his final decision. This impacted our ability to be prepared for the June election. And so we now are going to run in the general election in November. We have a longer period of time to get our message out, to share with New York is the success we have and not have this case overshadow how well we have run the city.

Abbas: So now the court had dismissed all the corruption charges from your case. And now I want to know, the people's perception is that it is happening due to supporting the Trump administration policy regarding the immigration and immigrants' deportations. Is it true? What would you like to comment on it?

Mayor Adams: There has never been any coordination, collaboration or any agreement from the Trump's administration and from me personally or from my administration. What I said about dangerous immigrants creating violence in our city and should be deported after they serve their time is what I said before the Trump administration came in office.

If you look at what I said for the last few years, you'll see I am saying nothing differently now. So the narrative that this was some form of corrupt agreement is just incorrect and it is not documented in any facts.

Abbas: So my next question is related to the Muslim community and their mosque. How would you protect the Muslim community and their mosques with the Islamophobia arising and also the fear of immigration raised by the Trump administration and the Muslim community? The community thinks about it and they feel fear sometimes. How would you protect them?

Mayor Adams: The same way I protect all New Yorkers. I do not protect New Yorkers based on their [religion] or based on their immigration status. We're consistent in protecting New Yorkers and I'm going to continue to do that.

I'm going to continue to educate the children, protect people in their houses of worship, including our mosque, our churches, our synagogues, and our Buddhist temples. This is a city of many faiths and I'm going to continue to provide a safe place where we can raise healthy children and families.

And what we have done with our Muslim population is different from any other administration. We allowed the call of prayer on Fridays that has never been done before. We allow you to pray at the city buildings and we're building our spaces even in precincts where one can go to pray.

We have really been open arms to all of our ethnic and our religious groups in general, but specifically to the Muslim community. And we will continue to arrest, apprehend, and ask for prosecution of anyone that creates any form of hate crime, such as Islamophobia.

Abbas: So now inflation is increasing gradually and many of people are facing a financial crisis. The taxes are higher and the prices of the grocery items are higher. So, if [you're elected] mayor again, what would you do for the people? I mean, to minimize the taxes, the rentals and how would you overcome on it?

Mayor Adams: Well, we know things are challenging for Americans and New Yorkers. We know affordability is a real issue and that is why we put in place our Money in Your Pockets initiative. We found creative ways to return money back to working class New Yorkers.

Like I like to say, we cannot determine what the price of bread is, but we can put bread in your pockets. And that's what we have been doing. $30 billion we put back in the pockets of New Yorkers.
Everything from excusing medical debt to decreasing the cost of child care from $55 a week to less than $5 a week, to paying for high-speed broadband for NYCHA residents, to paying the college tuition for foster care children, to giving reduced fare Metrocards for low-income New Yorkers, and building record levels of affordable housing. We've found creative ways of saying we can't control inflation, but we can put money back into your pockets.

We're going to continue to do that, but far too many resources remain on the table that many New Yorkers are not aware of. So we have put New Yorkers in contact with 70 city, state, and federal programs that can make life in New York City more affordable because that's the goal that we must accomplish in ensuring that.

And lastly, in Albany right now, we have an initiative that's called Axe the Tax for the Working Class. This is saying to those who make 150 percent of the poverty line or below, federal poverty line or below, we're saying you won't have to pay any income tax. So if there's a mother with one child that's making a certain dollar amount, we would not have to pay any income tax. And this is going to impact 582,000 New Yorkers and save taxpayers $63 million. That is how you fight to help New Yorkers deal with inflation.

Abbas: So now I go forward to the next and my last question. You always, whenever you visit the Coney Island Avenue, you feel very happy with the Pakistani community. So at the end of this interview, what would you like to give a message to the Pakistani community, especially for your election campaign?

Mayor Adams: Well, I'd like to say over and over again that I'm not a new friend. I'm an old friend. I stood with the Pakistani community during some very difficult times. I was there back in 2001 when the terrorist attacks happened. The community was devastated. Young men were rounded up and brought to the federal penitentiary. I raised my voice back then in 2001 and said this should not be happening to the community.

I've been a partner during some very difficult times. When the Lahore bombing took place, I stood with the community to denounce terrorism. When the earthquake happened in Pakistan, I was side by side with the community. And when women were attacked for wearing a hijab, I stood firmly with the community fighting against Islamophobia and hate. There's a long record.

I'm not a person that comes just during elections to say I'm your brother. I stand with you as your brother throughout the years, and I'm going to continue to do that. The Pakistani [people are] an important community. They believe in faith. They believe in family. They believe in small business. And most importantly, they believe in public safety. And the Pakistani police officers have grown in numbers because of some of the great work that has been done.

Abbas: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for being with us, and I wish you very good luck. Thank you so much.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care.

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