New York Mayor Eric Adams recently took a U-turn from the direction many of his fellow Democrat mayors and governors, vowing to work with the incoming Trump administration to rid his city of criminal illegal immigrants.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Thursday that Adams' position change is welcomed but he wishes others in the mayor's party who have vowed to fight federal efforts to remove criminal illegal immigrants would see the light.
"Every mayor in America should be striving to keep their community safe," Gonzales, a member of the House Homeland Security and Appropriations committees, told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "They should be working with the federal government.
"They should be working with Congress. They should be working with President [-elect Donald] Trump to keep all Americans safe.
"Whether it's in New York or California or Texas shouldn't matter. You should remove the politics from it," he said.
Gonzales, whose 23rd Congressional District spans about 800 miles of Texas' border with Mexico, said he pushed for this year's Department of Homeland Security appropriations package to include language that mandates local, state, and federal law enforcement work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on fixing the border crisis.
"When you're dealing with convicted criminal aliens, this is how we protect things," he said. "We don't just talk about it.
"You actually roll up your sleeve, you go to work, you put the funding in the places that ICE needs. ... If you have a position that's wrong, [that] is fine. People get it wrong sometimes.
"But you come clean with it and just say, 'Hey, look, as this thing has progressed, the citizens of New York City are no longer safe like they once were.' That's all it takes," Gonzales said.
"But I'd rather [Adams'] position change now ... than what we're seeing in California and other places that are saying, 'We welcome the challenge against the federal government. We dare the federal government to come after us.'
"To me, that is the absolute wrong approach. And those type of people that are elected in these positions, we need to boot them out," he said.
"We need to kick them out at the local level, and we need to get people back in these positions that want to make sure that Americans are safe."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.