Mayor de Blasio vowed Monday to defy President-elect Trump if his administration cracks down on undocumented immigrants — and on other issues that he claimed might undermine “our values.”
“If the federal government wants our police officers to tear immigrant families apart, we will refuse to do it,” the mayor said in a 40-minute speech at Cooper Union.
“We will never turn over the paperwork to the federal government [on immigration matters].”
The mayor also said the city would resist efforts to restore large-scale stop-and-frisk.
“If the Justice Department orders local police to resume stop and frisk, we will not comply,” he said.
A female Muslim police officer was stationed in uniform behind the mayor during the speech, part of his positioning to become the leading anti-Trump spokesman in the nation.
The mayor said the city would funds any cuts imposed by the Trump administration as a result of his actions, without explaining how.
Afterwards, Comptroller Scott Stringer, who’s considering a run for City Hall, praised the speech and said he’s now working on a report analyzing what federal funding the city might lose.
“It was important to bring us together,” Stringer said. “What comes out of it from a policy prospective, time will tell.”