Executive Order 50

April 8, 2025

AUTHORIZING FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES TO
INVESTIGATE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY ON RIKERS ISLAND

Download Executive Order 50

WHEREAS, the safety of the City of New York has been jeopardized by violent transnational gangs and criminal enterprises—including transnational gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua—that have been designated by federal authorities as foreign terrorist organizations; and

WHEREAS, the City of New York has taken steps to ensure that all residents, regardless of immigration status, can access City services and be confident that the City will not transmit information obtained in relation to accessing these services to federal immigration authorities, other than as permitted or required by law, beginning with the enactment of Executive Order 124 in 1989, further embedded in the City Charter by the 2001 Charter Revision Commission, and later through actions by subsequent Mayoral administrations and the City Council; and

WHEREAS, for decades, New York City law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Correction (“DOC”) and the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), have maintained partnerships with federal law enforcement counterparts to ensure public safety and combat interstate and transnational crime; and

WHEREAS, federal law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service have jurisdiction to enforce federal laws in all states and cities, including the City of New York; and

WHEREAS, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) is a division of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) that conducts criminal investigations into transnational crime, including the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, drugs, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of and through the United States; and

WHEREAS, the DOC Correction Intelligence Bureau (“CIB”) is staffed by New York City Correction Officers and is responsible for combatting gang activity in the City’s jails, coordinating with the NYPD as well as other law enforcement partners, in accordance with relevant laws and court orders; and

WHEREAS, it is critical that federal law enforcement agencies are able to share intelligence with the DOC and NYPD in real-time about criminal gang activity among individuals both inside and outside of DOC custody; and

WHEREAS, Rikers Island is the site of correctional facilities under the jurisdiction of the DOC and currently houses members and associates of designated terrorist organizations among other individuals incarcerated there; and

WHEREAS, there is historical precedent for federal law enforcement authorities to have office space and personnel on Rikers Island as recently as a decade ago; and

WHEREAS, Sections 2(m) and 2(p) of Executive Order No. 49, signed March 24, 2025, delegates to the First Deputy Mayor the authority to perform any function, power or duty of the Mayor in negotiating, executing and delivering any and all agreements, instruments and other documents necessary or desirable to effectuate any of the matters for any entity within the portfolio of the First Deputy Mayor or the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, and to perform such other duties as the Mayor may direct; and

WHEREAS, upon my appointment as First Deputy Mayor on April 1, 2025, Mayor Eric Adams authorized me to determine, based on my independent assessment, whether and under what circumstances to permit federal law enforcement authorities to have a presence on Rikers Island and I have since conducted an independent review and made that assessment; and

WHEREAS, Local Law 58 of 2014, as codified in the New York City Administrative Code at section 9-131, allows federal immigration authorities to maintain office space on land over which DOC has jurisdiction for purposes unrelated to the enforcement of civil immigration laws; and

NOW, THEREFORE, by the power vested in me by the Mayor of the City of New York, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Pursuant to New York City Administrative Code section 9-131(h)(2), federal law enforcement agencies, including but not limited to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are hereby authorized to designate personnel to maintain office space on land over which DOC has jurisdiction for the purpose of criminal enforcement and criminal investigations only.

§ 2. Such federal law enforcement personnel shall coordinate with CIB criminal investigations and related intelligence sharing focused on violent criminals and gangs, crimes committed at or facilitated by persons in DOC custody, and drug trafficking. 

§ 3. DOC and any federal law enforcement agency that designates personnel to maintain office space on land over which DOC has jurisdiction shall enter into a Memorandum of Understanding that permits federal agents to establish such office space. Such memorandum shall include a recognition that federal law enforcement activities will be limited to purposes unrelated to the enforcement of civil immigration laws, consistent with New York City Administrative Code section 9-131(h)(2), and a recognition that DOC staff are required to comply with New York City Administrative Code section 10-178.

§ 4. This Order shall take effect immediately.

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Randy Mastro
First Deputy Mayor