On Tuesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James condemned the Trump administration’s cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program.
“Recklessly cutting the staffing, funding, and resources that ensure 9/11 first responders and survivors get the health care they need is flat-out cruel,” James said. “Thousands of New Yorkers made heroic sacrifices to save others during this attack and are experiencing lifelong health impacts as a result.
“These heroes deserve the utmost respect and care from their government,” she added. “These cuts are unacceptable and must be reversed.”
Created in 2011, James said the World Trade Center Health Program provides medical treatment for more than 132,000 9/11 survivors, first responders, and other impacted individuals.
Recent reports have revealed that the Trump administration’s buyout offers for federal employees and the mass firing of probationary civil service staff have led to significant staffing cuts at federal healthcare programs, including the World Trade Center Health Program.
“As a result of these cuts, advocates for the 9/11 community report that the World Trade Center Health Program has seen a 20 % reduction in staff, which will undermine efforts to help patients,” the New York Attorney General said.
Meantime, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and James say they are “not backing down” in defending a “frivolous” lawsuit by US Attorney General Pam Bondi over President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Bondi announced on Wednesday that Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing New York State—along with Hochul, James, and the New York Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) Commissioner—for limited local collusion with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
This lawsuit includes a challenge to New York’s Green Light law, which allows New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, to obtain a driver’s license.
“We did it to Illinois. Strike one. Strike two is New York, and if you’re a state not complying with federal law? You’re next,” Bondi declared in a televised press conference on Wednesday.
But Hochul described the lawsuit as “all smoke and mirrors.”
“Earlier today, Attorney General Pam Bondi marched in front of the television cameras for a dramatic media briefing to announce she was filing charges against New York State related to our immigration laws. Hours later, when legal papers were shared with reporters, we learned this was smoke and mirrors: the Department of Justice was filing a routine civil action about a law passed in 2019 that has been upheld by the courts time and again,“ said Hochul in a statement on Wednesday.
“Here are the facts: Our current laws allow federal immigration officials to access any DMV database with a judicial warrant,“ she added. “That’s a common-sense approach that most New Yorkers support. But there’s no way I’m letting federal agents, or Elon Musk’s shadowy DOGE (so-called Department of Government Efficiency) operation, get unfettered access to the personal data of any New Yorker in the DMV system like 16-year-old kids learning to drive and other vulnerable people.
“New York is proud that immigrants from across the globe come here searching for a better life — people like my grandparents who left Ireland looking for the American dream,“ the governor continued. “We welcome law-abiding individuals who want to work, pay taxes, and contribute to our communities while, at the same time, protecting the public safety of all New Yorkers by cracking down on violent criminals.
“We expect Pam Bondi’s worthless, publicity-driven lawsuit to be a total failure, just like all the others,“ Hochul said. “Let me be clear: New York is not backing down.”
In a terse statement, James said: “Our state laws, including the Green Light law, protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe.
“I am prepared to defend our laws, just as I always have,“ she affirmed.
Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), described Bondi’s lawsuit as “an affront to the 10th Amendment, which clearly allows States to make and follow their own laws.
“It might work when Trump bullies Mayor Eric Adams, but he has a much poorer track record against fighters for the public good, like our NYS Attorney General Leticia James, who has overwhelmingly defeated Trump’s previous attacks on New York,“ Awawdeh, whose umbrella organization represents over 200 immigrant advocacy group in New York State, told Caribbean Life.
“New York’s Green Light law has been a vital public safety measure since 2019, allowing for a greater degree of accountability and protection of every New Yorker using our shared roadways,“ he added. “If there was ever a time for New York elected officials to stand up for the laws that keep all New Yorkers safe, it’s now.
“New York must not be intimidated into submitting to Trump’s cruel mass deportation agenda, which will separate families, destabilize our communities, and wreak havoc on our economy,“ Awawdeh continued.
On Tuesday, Adams insisted that he broke no law, as Caribbean and other immigration advocates have strongly condemned Trump for intervening in a federal corruption case against the mayor.
Trump’s DOJ has instructed federal prosecutors in the Southern District Court of New York to rescind the charges against Adams.
Federal prosecutors had indicted the mayor on five counts involving bribery conspiracy, fraud, and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
In a memo dispatched to federal prosecutors, Emil Bove, an erstwhile prosecutor in the Southern District Court of New York and the DOJ’s acting second-in-command, instructed that there will be “no further targeting of Mayor Adams or additional investigative steps” for now.
In response to the directive, the mayor told New Yorkers in an address on Tuesday that he was relieved that the case was finally over, “ending a months-long saga that put me, my family, and this city through an unnecessary ordeal.
“As I said from the outset, I never broke the law, and I never would,“ he said. “I would never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor.
“It is worth repeating the facts because many sensational and false claims have been made,“ he added. “So let me be clear, I never asked anyone to break the law on my behalf or on behalf of my campaign, never. And I absolutely never traded my power as an elected official for any personal benefit.“
However, Awawdeh blasted Trump’s intervention in the corruption case against the mayor.
He accused Adams of betraying Caribbean and other immigrant communities by cozying up to Trump amid the president’s mass deportation agenda.
“There is no longer any doubt: Eric Adams has sold out immigrant New Yorkers to keep himself out of prison,“ Awawdeh told Caribbean Life. “And he will continue to sell out immigrants and all of New York City to repay his debt to Trump.
“The highly unusual intervention of Trump’s DOJ into this prosecution is further proof that the president has no regard for justice and will stop at nothing to spare his political allies from facing accountability,“ he added.
“New Yorkers will keep paying the price for the mayor’s callous disregard for our laws, as Adams looks out for his own future instead of the safety and well-being of every New Yorker,“ Awawdeh continued.
The New York Civil Liberties Union also said, “By dismissing the charges without prejudice, the Trump administration retains the option to refile charges and keeps open a channel to exert political pressure.
“By giving ground to Trump’s cruel immigration designs, Adams is betraying our communities,“ it added in a statement. “New Yorkers must wonder whether the mayor’s personal interests and the city’s are now in indefinite conflict.”
However, the mayor’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, welcomed the DOJ’s action.
“I said from the outset, the mayor is innocent,“ he said briefly. “And he would prevail. Today, he has.”
