By Michael V. Cusenza
Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday danced around several questions from reporters regarding President Donald Trump’s polemical pledge to end birthright citizenship.
“[Trump] has the balance of power of using Eos (executive orders). And one thing I got clear when I sat down with him, we’re not going to agree on everything. But those areas that we disagree, I’m going to personally share with you. And he has given me that opportunity to communicate with him directly on issues we disagree, and I respect that,” Adams said. “And, you know, throughout the time that he was running, this was a tough time for us in how we implement our policies. He did not criticize, attack me publicly. And so, my job is to continue to deliver for the city. And I made it clear with him, where I disagree with you on, we will communicate. I agree, secure our border, because the American people have communicated that, make our city and our country affordable, and protect our streets. There are a host of things that I agree on, and I’m looking forward to doing.”
Asked again if he had an opinion on the birthright citizenship issue, Adams didn’t directly answer the question.
“I don’t want to be part of what feeds the anxiety of going back and forth in this public discourse that we’re seeing,” Hizzoner said. “If things that he does that I disagree on, I will reach out to the president and communicate with him. And they’re going to be things we agree on. They’re things that we disagree on. I don’t agree with myself 100 percent of the times. And when we need to, he’s given me the opportunity to communicate with him, and I appreciate that greatly.”
Several leaders and organizations issued statements blasting Trump.
“We all know the last thing the new president cares about is adhering to or respecting the Constitution. But the very first words of the 14th Amendment — ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States … are citizens of the United States,’ — are sacred law, regardless of whether or not a president believes in them,” said Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “It’s not surprising that one of this president’s first acts in office will be a sickening, xenophobic attack on the citizenship of millions of Americans of all ages, but under no circumstance will our borough of more than 1 million immigrants sit idly by while our Constitutional rights are trampled. For every push this new administration makes over the next four years to dehumanize and demoralize our neighbors, we will defend our values like our lives depend on it. Because they do.”
“President Trump’s un-American and unconstitutional attempt to end birthright citizenship by executive order is a political stunt designed to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment. It does nothing to advance U.S. economic growth or strengthen our nation,” the Congressional Hispanic Caucus wrote. “Birthright citizenship has been a critical driver of our country’s economic success, enabling millions to contribute as workers, business owners, and taxpayers. Stripping this constitutional right would create a permanent underclass and destabilize our workforce.”
