Mayor Adams to issue new guidance on how NYC workers should handle ICE

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is soon to distribute new directives on what city workers should do if confronted by immigration officials at city shelters and other sites, following confusion and controversy around previous guidance on the issue.

A draft version of the update, contained in a flowchart obtained by Gothamist, outlines a series of steps government workers should take if approached by “non-local law enforcement,” including asking the visitors to show identification and a judicial warrant as well as calling agency attorneys.

The steps generally follow the city’s past guidance on this issue. Notably missing, however, is controversial language inserted in recent memos sent to public hospital staffers and nonprofit shelter providers stating that workers who “reasonably feel threatened” are allowed to permit immigration officials to enter city buildings.

Those prior memos, sent last month, prompted questions and concerns from shelter providers, workers unions and other elected officials, who called the guidance confusing, unnecessary and contrary to the city’s sanctuary protections, which generally prohibit city staff and resources from being used to further federal immigration enforcement.

The Adams administration is issuing the new instructions after President Donald Trump signed executive orders on his first day in office calling for stepped up immigration enforcement.

Across the country, immigration arrests averaged about 1,000 over several days since Trump returned to office, up from about 300 a day in 2024, according to ICE posts on social media.

The president has also vowed to punish sanctuary cities and jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with his plans for “mass deportations.” The Trump administration sued Chicago and Illinois on Thursday, claiming that city and state officials had been "affirmatively thwarting" federal immigration laws.

The graphic shared Monday includes advice that states, “In all instances… do not interfere with a law enforcement officer’s actions.”

The new draft guidance has been distributed to local elected officials, labor leaders and members of the Adams administration and will be finalized and distributed to city agencies and frontline staffers later on Monday, according to City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak.

Mamelak said the city is “not reversing” its position on the controversial phrasing in its prior memos, but instead offering additional guidance for clarity.

“That [earlier] memo was sent from lawyers to lawyers,” Mamelak said. “It was never meant to be sent to frontline workers.”

The new guidance also does not apply to the NYPD or the city’s Department of Corrections, agencies that have additional city laws to follow about detaining individuals requested by ICE officers, Mamelak said. And she said the flowchart also does not apply to public schools, which adhere to state rules and guidance.

City Hall spokesperson Liz Garcia said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have visited city offices in recent weeks, but she did not provide more details about those incidents.

The new directive was revealed after a Monday morning meeting in which Adams advised top commissioners to avoid criticizing Trump in social media and interfering in federal immigration enforcement, as first reported by the news outlet THE CITY.

When asked about the meeting, Mamelak said in a statement, “The mayor wants to find ways to work with the federal administration, not war with them. Tweets do not solve problems, which is why addressing issues on the streets is what this administration is going to do. Delivering for New Yorkers and protecting our employees is — and always will be — our North Star.”

Elizabeth Kim, David Brand, and Brigid Bergin contributed additional reporting.