Transcript: Mayor Adams appears on MSNBC’s “José Díaz-Balart Reports”

April 16, 2025

José Diaz-Balart: 36 past the hour as the Dominican Republic continues to mourn the victims of last week's deadly nightclub roof collapse. The first lawsuit has been filed against the club's owners. The suit was filed by the family of one of the 231 people who died in the collapse. Other families have indicated they're also going to be filing lawsuits.  

That lawsuit comes after New York City Mayor Eric Adams visited the site of the collapse in the capital of Santo Domingo. Joining us now in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams. Mayor, thank you so much for your time. 

Mayor Eric Adams: Good to be here, José. Thank you. 

Diaz-Balart: I know you just got back from the Dominican Republic. There are more than 230 people there who lost their lives in that nightclub collapse. The entire country and so many others are in mourning. You said you had to go there. Why? 

Mayor Adams: Well, yesterday our city also held a day of mourning. And when you look at this city where close to a million Dominicans call it their home and contribute to our city. And as I moved throughout parts of the neighborhoods, we have a large Dominican population. I was extremely touched by how much this tragedy touched the lives of so many.  

And I just thought being a mayor is not only substantive in bringing down crime, but it's also symbolism. And I wanted to make a strong symbolic gesture of telling the Dominican people and Dominican Republic and here that this city mourns with them and stands with them. 

Diaz-Balart: What do you want to say to the Dominicans that make New York City their home and who contribute so much for so long? 

Mayor Adams: On so many different levels and the alignment of this administration and the Dominican community in particular, as well as the large immigrant population. We believe in family. We believe in faith. We believe in public safety. We believe in preparing the future for our children and small businesses. And that personifies the Dominican community.  

I had Brother Rodriguez with me. He was from the Bodegas Association, United Bodegas Associations. That's the heart and soul of working class people in the city. And by having my delegation include all from my first Dominican deputy mayor, Deputy Mayor Almanzar. 

It was a cross section of religious leaders and those who are New Yorkers who wanted to come together. And I'm saying to the Dominican people, you've had our back for so many years in this city. The first immigrant that came here was a Dominican. And I'm saying I have your back as your mayor. 

Diaz-Balart: And mayor, let's talk about the immigrant community and immigration. Is New York City under your leadership today still a sanctuary city? 

Mayor Adams: Yes, it is. And I think that sometimes when people use that terminology, sanctuary city, they think that law was passed, no, it's not a law that's passed. And here's what it means to me, as I articulated over and over again these last few months. It means that people who come here and pay tax dollars as they're here, they have a right to the services that are here and you don't have disorder.  

And when we brought in and allowed 234,000 migrants and asylum seekers to come here, we wanted to make sure that children were in school, over 40,000, so they're not in dangerous environments. We want to make sure that people have access to health care and go to our hospitals. And we want to make sure that people are not sleeping on our streets because that impacts the quality of life of our city. 

And so we're going to maintain the laws that are in place, but we're also going to ensure those who are participating in illegal and dangerous behavior, after they're convicted and served their time, they should be deported from this city and from this country. 

Diaz-Balart: And, you know, just last week, your administration issued an executive order allowing federal immigration agents to reestablish an office at Rikers Island just over 10 years after the city banned ICE from that complex when New York City became a sanctuary city.  

Just yesterday, the City Council sued you to block that order, claiming it is part of a corrupt quid pro quo bargain between you and the Trump administration. That's what they claim. Was that decision part of a corrupt quid pro quo? 

Mayor Adams: I think it goes without saying, I acknowledge in federal court when I raised my right hand that there was no quid pro quo. That has become a soundbite for those who want to really distract us from the mission. And the mission is to keep our city safe.  

And clearly, my first deputy mayor, Randy Mastro, he visited Rikers Island several times. And it was up to him to make an independent decision based on his analysis and based on his understanding. He was a former first deputy mayor. He understands what it takes to keep cities safe. He made that conclusion independently of my input. I told him to do your own analysis and see what's the best way to move forward.  

And remember, when you look at the executive order, people are talking about ICE specifically, but we're talking about other federal agencies that would be involved. And that's very important. When you allow gangs to run rampant on Rikers Island, it has a direct correlation on what plays out in the streets of the City of New York. That's not acceptable.  

Everyone that knows me knows I have one belief, the prerequisite to our prosperity is public safety. 80 percent of New Yorkers believe those who are convicted of dangerous crimes should be deported. And I'm in alignment with working class people in this city. 

Diaz-Balart: And so, mayor, just to be clear, you know, the buck stops with you. Are you stating that you agree or disagree? Is there any gray area between that executive decision, that executive order, and how you feel? 

Mayor Adams: Well, let's be clear. The buck stops with me, but that's why you bring on board talented deputy mayors. My deputy mayors are able to make their independent analysis and come to their own determination on a number of subject areas.  

We're dealing with, when you talk about Rikers, we're dealing with the closure of Rikers. That is something that I have [First] Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro looking at as well to come up with these decisions. And so, I've always made it clear that we need to go after those who commit violent acts. And those who commit violent acts, after they're deported, they should be, after they serve their time, they should be deported.  

And I also made it clear on collaboration. We should collaborate with the ICE, FBI, HSI, on every level of enforcement. And you know, something that I think we really mixed up in this conversation, ICE is not a criminal organization. ICE is a law enforcement organization. I collaborate with law enforcement organizations for public safety.  

The law does not allow us to collaborate for civil deportation, and we won't do that. We will follow the law. But I will never shy away from collaborating with my federal and state law enforcement agencies on all levels of bringing down crime and keeping New Yorkers safe. 

Diaz-Balart: Mayor, is that collaboration that you're speaking with, with federal officials, with ICE and others, is it the same level of cooperation that you had with those same government entities during the Biden administration? 

Mayor Adams: Yes, without a doubt. It has never changed. And oftentimes people talk about the post-Trump election, President Trump election. What I say to people all the time, go look at the pre-election. My message has been clear. My words have not changed. My actions have not changed.  

Collaborating with federal law enforcement is crucial. I asked the president to come here, President Biden, when he was in office. He came to New York City and sat down and visited how my collaboration was in place, with something called HIDTA, where we have city, state, and federal agencies that meet every morning. He sat down with the Police Department. I advocated to get an appointment to the ATF. This is something that has always been in place.  

And if anyone that knows me, that's the person they're going to tell you that Eric believed in collaboration with our state, federal, and city law enforcement. This has not changed. And I'm consistent on that message and our city must be safe. 

Diaz-Balart: Mayor, what do you think of the Trump administration's decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act and deport hundreds of migrants that are in this country to that high-security prison in El Salvador? 

Mayor Adams: Well, I try to share with people over and over again what many people fail to comprehend. The federal government, by law, determines the immigration policies. I don't. That was a mistake that was made in the former administration, when we had to handle almost 235,000 migrants and asylum seekers that cost the city $7.5 billion.  

We should secure our borders. We should make sure people who come into the country are not part of dangerous gangs and have a history of violence. And the federal government must fix our immigration status. Cities should not handle that. And that was a bipartisan approach. When I went to El Paso and saw what was happening there, it should not happen to any city. Federal government should handle the immigration policies and enforce those policies. 

Diaz-Balart: And mayor, all this comes as you're running for re-election, skipping the Democratic primary, running as an independent. There's a history of independents winning New York City mayor races, Lindsay in 65, Bloomberg in 2009. Why do you think this is the better route for you to take? 

Mayor Adams: Well, it's clear that these bogus charges that were levied against me did not allow me the proper time to do all of the technical aspects of running in the Democratic primary. We collected over 25,000 signatures to run in that primary. I was looking forward to doing so, but this case went on for so long, and it overshadowed the success of this city.  

Those who do a proper, unbiased analysis see we have more jobs in the city's history. Our crime has decreased since last quarter. We saw the lowest number of shootings in the recorded history of the city, save on our subways. Unemployment has dropped. We build more affordable housing. All of those things that I should have been able to share with the public, it didn't give me the opportunity to do so because we were overshadowed by this really unfortunate, bogus case that was brought against me.  

Now I have an opportunity to do so until November and share to New Yorkers how we turn the city around for working class people. I'm looking forward to doing so in the process, and this is a Democratic process. I'm still a Democrat, but I'm running on an independent line. 

Diaz-Balart: And mayor, finally, the New York Post reports the Trump administration has referred New York City Attorney General Letitia James to the Justice Department over alleged mortgage fraud. What do you think of that? 

Mayor Adams: I think that the system would go through and go forward, and it's up to the investigatory bodies to do an unbiased investigation. Letitia James, the AG, is a longtime friend and I wish her well. 

Diaz-Balart: Is this, do you think, any politicization of the Justice Department? 

Mayor Adams: Well, I think that Letitia James, the Attorney General James, her spokesperson should speak on behalf of that. I can only speak on my personal belief and my observation on what the former president, President Biden, said his Justice Department became too politicized. The current president said it, I said it.  

So I just think that it's imperative that our criminal justice agencies do what's right, and I think her spokesperson should respond to any allegations that were levied towards her.  

Diaz-Balart: New York City Mayor Eric Adams, I thank you very much for being with us today. Very much appreciate your time. 

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care. 

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