At a press briefing, NYC Mayor Eric Adams appeared to criticize Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
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00:00How are you, AJ? I'm doing well. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Given all that you've said on ICE and Rikers, or not said on ICE and Rikers, are you willing to reaffirm your support for due process for anyone arrested in New York City?
00:19Due process is clear. I'm a strong believer in due process. Don't, you know, don't rewrite my history, I tell people all the time.
00:30I was a ranking member of Crime and Corrections in the state senate. I've visited many of the correctional facilities in the state. Strong advocate for the abuse of stop and frisk. Testified in federal court, Floyd versus the New York City Police Department. The federal judge mentioned my testimony on one of the reasons for ruling against the police department.
00:51She saw me on the street, matter of fact, when I was running for office, and she said, what are people talking about here when it comes down to you? You were the leading voice of reform in law enforcement.
01:02Due process is the cornerstone of who we are as a democracy. We should always have that due process, and we should never move away from it. It's crucial, and no one knows that better than me, a due process.
01:13And so, yes, I reaffirm my commitment that people must have due process. And the courts make that determination. The courts should determine if due process was used and if it was not used.
01:26And listen, I critique the criminal justice system, but it's the best criminal justice system we have on the globe. And I've traveled internationally and witnessed what happens when you don't have a due process criminal justice system.
01:40With all the critiques I have, I love the system we have, because there are ways to ensure you get your due process.
01:49So, sir, if somebody gets scooped up off the street and, you know, not charged specifically with any kind of crime, doesn't go to trial, and gets sent to a gulag in El Salvador, you have a problem with that?
02:02No. There's a court system that would determine if someone's right was violated. And what I do know about doing investigations, like one case where an individual—the courts made the determination he could be deported, there was a big outcry that he should not be deported.
02:20There are evidence, you know, if you're handing out literature, lifting up Hamas, which is a terrorist organization, if you're trying to recruit to do so, if you damage property because you want to break into a building somewhere on a college campus, you know, there are repercussions because of that.
02:40And so, the court makes that determination. I know people think, being mayor, you make the determination on everything. I don't.
02:46There are areas of our government and judicial system. I know my role. I'm not going to tell the police officers to go out and break laws to do anything. Courts make the determination of the outcome.
03:03But I will tell you this. We have dangerous gangs in our city, and I would not be sipping, you know, drinks with them. I would not turn them into heroes.
03:15You know, I would not be sharing a Tito's incelsus with them. You know, I'm not going to romanticize bad people that do bad things. I'm not going to do that, and I'm going to call it the way it is.
03:28We have dangerous gangs in this city that are harmful to migrants, documented and undocumented people.
03:36So, if those who want to lift up these gang members and domestic abusers, that their wives have complaints on their domestic abuse, I'm not going to be drinking tequila with them.