Migrant crime forcing 'dramatic' political shift as NYC mayor calls for sanctuary law changes: Benson

Eric Adams calls for deportations by ICE for migrants who commit crimes in NYC

Mayor Adams called out for 'changing his tune' on border, immigration policies

Fox News Radio host Guy Benson joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss how Mayor Adams has pivoted on New York City's sanctuary city policies and Dr. Phil's request to Americans asking for them to 'stand up' on the border crisis.

Fox News Radio host Guy Benson told "America's Newsroom" Tuesday that the politics surrounding sanctuary cities is "turning rather dramatically" following an uptick in migrant crime, as New York City Mayor Eric Adams doubled down on calls to modify laws that pertain to migrants who commit offenses.

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GUY BENSON: The politics have changed, and so his answer has changed on this. In the clip that you just played, he said living in New York City is a right. I think he meant it's a privilege for people who actually don't have a right to be in the country. And because there has been this serious uptick in crime involving illegal immigrants, and as a former law enforcement guy, he's seeing that law enforcement's hands are tied to take action that would be widely supported by New Yorkers. He's changing his tune, and he wants the law changed. He should not just say that. He should force the issue. 

And what's interesting is in Chicago, another sanctuary city, there are Democratic aldermen who are pushing to strip the city completely of their sanctuary status because they're sick of it as well. The left-wing mayor there, Brandon Johnson, is opposing them. But the politics in all of this is turning rather dramatically, even in some of the bluest cities in the country. And I think some of the credit has to go to Greg Abbott in the state of Texas for really pushing the envelope and forcing these places to live with the consequences of their preening and their policies. And it turns out that when the rubber meets the road, in some cases, these politicians don't like their own rhetoric so much, at least living with what their rhetoric brings about.

Compilation photo of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Texas Governor Greg Abbott

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, left, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have feuded over immigration amid an influx of migrants being bused from Texas to New York.  (Getty Images)

Adams on Monday doubled down while speaking to a group at a town hall meeting in Canarsie, Brooklyn, saying the sanctuary city law needs to be modified so that any migrant who commits a felony can be turned over to ICE and deported.

Adams commended his administration for doing an excellent job during a challenging time, but stated his hands are tied by federal and local law.

The mayor spoke about some migrants participating in robberies and using mopeds to commit snatch and grab stick-ups.

The issue, Adams said, became a real problem, so the police chief and his team focused on the illegal mopeds and found many of the people committing the crimes had drugs and guns.

Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report. 

This article was written by Fox News staff.

Authored by Fox News Staff via FoxNews February 27th 2024