Newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Wednesday evening, Feb. 12, that federal authorities have filed a lawsuit against New York State, NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James and NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Commissioner Mark Schroeder over its “Sanctuary City” status and “Green Light” law amid reports of tip-offs being given to undocumented immigrants of the ongoing federal raids being carried out by U.S. Department of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies across New York State in recent weeks.

 

Notably, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was not sued, according to Bondi. Addressing those gathered, the attorney general said, “We’re here today because we have filed charges against the State of New York, we have filed charges against Kathy Hochul, we have filed charges against Letitia James and Mark Schroeder, who is with DMV.”

 

As reported, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memo dated Monday, Feb. 10, in which department officials directed “Acting U.S. Attorneys and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York” to drop, for now, the federal bribery and corruption charges brought against the mayor last year.

 

As reported, the mayor had his iphones and other devices seized by federal agents in November 2023 as part of the campaign finance investigation into his 2021 mayoral election campaign. Addressing New Yorkers on Tuesday, Adams reduced the federal case to “a months-long saga” and an “unnecessary ordeal” for him, his family, and the City of New York.

 

Adams said in part on Tuesday, “This has been the most difficult 15 months of my life, but my inspiration was knowing that I was fighting for the people of this city. So many of those people are still facing their own difficult challenges every day, just like my own mother did when she worked three jobs to raise six children. If you work hard enough, New York City should give you a chance to succeed. This is our great promise. This is my promise to you: hard work, real results, and a city and a mayor you can be proud of. Thank you, New York.” Meanwhile, the governor briefly responded to questions by Pix11 News on the dismissal of the bribery charges against the mayor on Tuesday.

 

On Wednesday, back at her press conference in Washington D.C., Bondi continued, “This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect Americans, American citizens, and Angel moms, like the mom standing right behind me who you’re going to hear from in a moment. New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops, it stops today. As you know, we sued Illinois. New York didn’t listen. So now, you’re next,” she said, looking into the camera.

 

Bondi went on to say that “millions of illegal aliens with violent records” had flooded into U.S. communities “bringing violence and deadly drugs with them.” Referring to the details of the lawsuit and New York’s “green light” laws, she said in part, “It’s a green light to illegal immigration, which says they can’t comply. That law is unconstitutional. They can’t do that, and what they’ve done is they have a tip-off provision that requires New York’s DMV commissioner to properly inform any illegal alien when a federal immigration agency has requested their information.”

She added, “So think about the men and women in law enforcement behind me. It’s tipping off an illegal alien, and it’s unconstitutional, and that’s why we filed this lawsuit, and that’s why we charge Mark Schroeder too.” She then introduced Tammy Nobles, mother of the deceased Kayla Hamilton, 20, who she said was raped and murdered by an undocumented MS 13 gang member in Maryland in 2022.

 

According to the federal justice department, MS-13 was formed by Salvadoran immigrants that came to the U.S. to escape the civil war in their home country. “Some of its members were trained in guerilla warfare and the use of military weapons,” Justice officials said. “The gang is well-organized and is heavily involved in lucrative illegal enterprises, being notorious for its use of violence to achieve its objectives.”

 

Bondi said Nobles represented not only herself and her family, but other moms around the country who have suffered “because of what the Biden administration did.” For her part, Nobles said her daughter’s murderer was able to come across the border, even though he was flagged as an MS 13 gang member and already had a criminal record in 2020 in El Salvador for illicit gang activity.

 

She alleges he came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied alien child who said he was afraid of gang activity in his country, that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services called him a “nice boy,” and that he had reportedly shown age-appropriate behavior.

 

“That felt so wrong when he murdered my daughter,” Nobles continued. “He ended up in Maryland where he was able to rent a room in the same mobile home as her. We thought it was a legit company that were renting out these rooms, but it turned out that it was another illegal immigrant who owned these mobile homes, and he knew Walter from El Salvador. He knew him and allowed him to rent a room with my child.”

 

Nobles said her daughter was only living at the mobile home for five days before she was robbed of $6, strangled, raped, and left on a floor “like trash.” She continued, “I have been sharing her story for over two-and-a-half years to bring change, because this should have not have ever happened to Kayla, and it shouldn’t be happening to other families, being hurt by the border.”

 

The composed mother alleged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations had not done their jobs. “They did not check his background,” she alleged. “They did say that he was processed. So, if they processed him, they knew that he was a gang member and still allowed him here.”

 

Nobles further alleged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not verify the killer’s sponsor and allowed him to live with a sponsor not knowing if that sponsor was his cousin or his aunt. “He was able to leave the sponsor’s house to go live wherever, to go wherever he wanted,” she said. “I am going to continue sharing Kayla’s story to help save others and to bring awareness of what was happening under the Biden Harris administration.”

 

The grieving mother thanked Bondi and U.S. President Donald Trump for giving her a platform to share her daughter’s story. “This is going to end,” she said. “No other parents should suffer by having their child murdered by somebody that shouldn’t have been here.”

 

Bondi then said that it was her understanding that in a letter intercepted in jail, the culprit admitted to committing four murders and two rapes. “That’s who we were letting walk into our country, and that’s why President Trump has directed this to stop, and if you don’t comply with federal law, we will hold you accountable,” Bondi said. “We did it to Illinois, strike one. Strike two is New York, and if you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next.”

 

Bondi talked about how FBI, DEA, and ATF agents put their lives on the line every day to protect everyone, before she then spoke about New York’s “Green Light” law. “They’re giving a green light to any illegal alien in New York where law enforcement officers cannot check their identity if they pull them over,” she said. “Law enforcement officers do not have access to their background, and if these great men and women pull over someone and don’t have access to their background, they have no idea who they’re dealing with, and it puts their lives on the line every single day.”

The attorney general continued, saying violent criminals, gang members, drug traffickers, and human smugglers would no longer terrorize the American people. “Today, you will be held accountable if you do not follow federal law. It’s over, it ends, and we’re coming after you,” she said.

 

According to a January 2024 report published by the NYC Comptroller’s Office, crossing the U.S. border and applying for asylum is a legal way to enter the United States by people fleeing dangerous situations in their own home countries. The report dispels many other ill-conceived myths about immigrants. For example, it explains how immigrants benefit the economy, irrespective of their status. The report can be read in full here.

 

In response to a question about putting states “on notice” starting with lawsuits, and whether there were other types of “punishments” planned for individual states e.g. charges against state politicians who do not comply, Bondi said, “Well, we’re going to see what they do next. We have sued them all. We personally sued the governor, the attorney general, Letitia James, and Mark Schroeder with DMV, because he has the green light laws. So, what do they have to do? They have to start complying with federal law. If they don’t, we’re going to appeal it, and we will win. They have to comply with federal law.”

 

Bondi was then asked about Adams and fact that as of Wednesday night, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, had not yet formally dropped the bribery case against him despite instructions issued by the DOJ on Monday to do so, whether DOJ leadership had spoken to Sassoon about the matter, and what action would be taken against Sassoon if she failed to comply.

 

She responded, “I have not spoken to her. I know our acting [U.S.] DAD [Deputy Attorney General] Emil Bove has spoken to her, and Chad Weisel may have spoken to her, but that case should be dropped. It was done at the directive of Emil, so that case should be dropped. I did not know that it had not been dropped yet, but I will certainly look into that.”

 

Bondi was then asked about allegations that someone from within the FBI was leaking information to New York officials about impending ICE raids, “putting officers lives at risk” and whether the DOJ had gotten any closer to determining if such alleged leaks were indeed coming from within the FBI, and what the consequences would be for leakers, if identified.

 

“Well, first, I can’t talk about anything that is ongoing and it’s really for the similar reasons of what I said earlier, the great men and women in law enforcement standing behind me today,” Bondi said. “They must be protected. At any time anyone leaks or tips off anything regarding a pending investigation, that jeopardizes lives. You’re telling a bad guy what’s about to happen. It could jeopardize the lives of all the men and women in law enforcement.”

 

She continued, “We will not stand for it. We will find you. We’re going to investigate it, no matter what agency it came from. We don’t know for certain. We have an open investigation, so I can’t talk about it in detail, but we will do everything in our power to hold you accountable, and it is a crime, and you will be prosecuted when we find you.”

The attorney general was then asked about “interactions” with Adams. A female reporter asked, “I know he has a little bit of a different tone than some of the other Democrats out of the Empire State, and then also in Denver, Mayor Mike Johnston [a Democrat] because before President Trump went back into office, he had issued some words about a potential stand-off and then walked that back. So, I was curious to see what things have been like out of New York City and Denver officials.”

 

In response, Bondi said, “Yeah, well, we’re hoping that in New York, Mayor Adams is going to cooperate with us with the Sanctuary Cities and the illegal aliens, and has the Mayor of Colorado been cooperating now? I believe he might have now. Yeah, I believe Colorado is now cooperating. That’s what we want. We don’t want to sue you. We don’t want to prosecute people. We want people to comply with the law. This is very simple.”

 

In reference to Nobles, she then said, “An MS 13 member murdered her daughter! That’s happening throughout this country. We have one Angel Mom. It’s too many, and we have Angel Moms throughout this country who should not be going through this. Comply with the law. You know, this is the last thing we want to be doing. We want to be out there, all of us fighting violent crime. Yet, we’re fighting illegal aliens and that ends, and it’s going to end today.”

During a separate press conference on Thursday, Feb. 13, Democratic U.S. House Minority Speaker Hakeem Jeffries was asked the following question by a reporter. “Your colleagues in the New York delegation have called Mayor Adams compromised, and that his… that the President has him, quote, on a ‘short leash’ because of the outstanding threat of charges being reinstated. Do you share those concerns?”

 

As reported, the bribery charges against Adams were dropped “without prejudice” on Monday, meaning they can potentially be brought against the mayor at a later point by the DOJ. “Those are all legitimately held concerns that have been articulated by members of the Congressional delegation,” Jeffries replied. “Most importantly, there are people in the communities that I represent back in Brooklyn who are deeply alarmed at the unfolding events connected to the current Mayor of the City of New York.”

 

The reporter asked, “So you think it’s a legitimate fear that he [Adams] is basically going to do the bidding of the White House? Jeffries replied, “I’ll be back home in Brooklyn later on today, but what is clear is that the White House made a decision to dismiss the criminal charges pending against Mayor Adams, without prejudice. Translation: it is the intention of the Trump administration to keep the current mayor on a short leash. How the mayor responds to the White House’s intentions is going to determine a lot about the political future of the current Mayor of the City of New York.”

On Thursday, Feb. 13, Sassoon abruptly resigned as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. She is the chief federal law enforcement officer for the district, which encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan and The Bronx in New York City, along with Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, and Westchester counties.

 

Reuters reported on Thursday that Sassoon was one of three senior Justice department officials to resign on Thursday rather than comply with the order to dismiss corruption charges against New York City’s mayor, according to an internal Justice department memo seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter.

 

Sassoon graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 2008, and from Yale Law School in 2011. Following graduation from law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and to the Honorable Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court.

 

Sassoon started as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York in 2016. As a member of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit, she tried murder and racketeering cases, and prosecuted Lawrence Ray for racketeering conspiracy, extortion, forced labor, and sex trafficking, related to his abuse and exploitation of his daughter’s college roommates and others.

 

As a member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, she investigated and prosecuted Samuel Bankman-Fried and others for the multi-billion-dollar fraud on customers of FTX.com. Prior to assuming the role of United States Attorney, Sassoon served as co-chief of criminal appeals. In 2024, she was awarded the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Criminal Investigation. In 2023, she was awarded the Women in Federal Law Enforcement Top Prosecutor Award.

 

New York City Mayor issued the following statement on Friday, Feb. 14, after calls from the Deputy Attorney General Antonion Delgado, among others, for the mayor to resign. “I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never, he said.