Politics New York City

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Donald Trump v.s. the State of New York

How far can Donald Trump take his new agenda in his hometown?

January 24, 2025 Jesse Goodman
President-elect Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York, May 30, 2024. Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File
President-elect Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York, May 30, 2024. Photo: Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP/Pool
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Trump has made it clear he plans to repeal the policies of the Biden administration and assert his own vision for the nation — including his hometown of New York City. Standing in his way are city and state politicians, who retain their own authority to block Trump’s efforts.

Gov. Kathy Hochul began marshaling her defenses back in November when she created the Empire State Freedom Initiative, a team of experts working to develop strategies to thwart Trump policy in New York. 

Attorney General Letitia James has echoed this commitment. “My office has been preparing for a potential second Trump Administration… and we will work each and every day to defend Americans, no matter what this new administration throws at us. We are ready to fight back again.”

As the president sets his sights on two key issues for the people of New York City, congestion pricing and deportations, the question becomes: What can Donald Trump feasibly do to override New York officials? 

Congestion pricing

When congestion pricing was implemented in New York City on Jan. 5 — the first program of its kind in the nation — it represented a victory over years of public and political pushback, including at least 10 lawsuits and a series of congressional challenges.

Then, 15 days into its lifespan, one of congestion pricing’s most vocal critics became president. “‘Congestion Pricing’ is a disaster for NYC,” Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post back in May. “I will TERMINATE Congestion Pricing in my FIRST WEEK back in Office!!!” 

Five days in, the president has yet to make good on his promise. But he also hasn’t given it up. On Jan. 11, 2025, Trump met with Republican lawmakers from New York at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he reaffirmed his promise to defeat the congestion toll.

“He wants to kill it,” Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) told the New York Post.

Hochul, for her part, remains steadfast in her commitment to uphold congestion pricing, highlighting its potential benefits in reducing traffic and funding essential transit projects. “In your first days in office, don’t eviscerate the public transportation system, help us,” Hochul said in a message to the president. 

Trump’s first course of action, were he to pursue his stated desire to end congestion pricing, would probably be to rescind federal approval through executive order. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), for example, operates under the president’s authority. If Trump instructs the FHWA to withdraw its approval or mandate a more comprehensive environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), he could effectively halt the program.

However, such executive actions would likely face legal challenges. Opponents could argue that the withdrawal of approval is arbitrary or capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act, leading to lengthy court battles that would shift power to the judicial branch.

Trump and his allies will likely pursue congressional intervention as well, especially with a Republican majority in both chambers. House Republicans have already pledged a comprehensive effort to dismantle the program by imposing conditions that would make it untenable or banning it outright. They would need a majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass such legislation — a feasible, but arduous and protracted endeavor.

One thing remains clear: Congestion pricing’s most vocal critics will use every weapon in their arsenal to see it repealed.

“We’re looking at every avenue from the executive, to the legislative, to the judiciary, to kill this,” Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told the New York Post in November. 

“If [Hochul is] going to impose this tax on my constituents, I’m going to look for every angle to scrutinize the MTA, every federal dollar they receive, and to make sure that they’re acting efficiently and that they’re audited to act efficiently,” said Malliotakis.

It remains unclear how successful these efforts will be. Meanwhile, congestion pricing supporters are urging the MTA to promote the program’s early successes. 

After the first week, MTA data showed a 7.5% reduction in traffic within the congestion zone — which runs from the Battery to 60th Street in Manhattan — equating to approximately 43,000 fewer vehicles entering the area daily. Travel times on inbound river crossings improved by 30–40%, and accidents in the congestion zone were lower than they had been during the same period in 2020 and 2021 when the pandemic kept most cars off the road.

“Just look out the window: there is less traffic, quieter streets, and we think everyone has seen it,” Juliette Michaelson, the MTA deputy chief of policy and external relations, told the Associated Press. “Traffic patterns are already changing and they will continue to change.” Unless, of course, President Trump and his allies get what they want.

Deportations

In his first term, Trump was largely unsuccessful in carrying out his mission to suffocate illegal immigration in the U.S. This time around, he’s made it clear that deportation is his top priority. 

During his campaign, Trump vowed to “launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America.” On Jan. 23, just three days into his administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers raided a Newark business without a warrant and detained everyone they found, including both citizens and non-citizens.

It is unclear whether this illegal raid was sanctioned by any federal authority. Regardless of who gave the order, ICE agents have gained new powers and protections under the Trump administration.  

New York City is home to 412,000 undocumented immigrants as of 2022. These crucial New Yorkers run local businesses and contribute billions in taxpayer revenue. As a sanctuary city, New York assures illegal immigrants the right to certain protections, including access to legal aid and city services, while also limiting local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal authorities. These measures are part of the city’s commitment to shielding vulnerable populations from immigration crackdowns.

City officials acted fast to gain a head start before Trump’s inauguration. The Floyd Bennett Field migrant shelter — the last one in New York on federal property — was shut down on Jan. 15 and its inhabitants were relocated outside Trump’s jurisdiction. Local government agency heads have issued internal memos in the last few weeks instructing city employees and NYPD staff to take measures to block federal law enforcement, even if presented with a judicial warrant. “Know your rights” sessions have reached an all-time high throughout the city. 

“New York does not sign on… to the Trump agenda,” the New York Civil Liberties Union executive director Donna Lieberman told CBS News.

Trump has doubled down on his commitment to deportations. Within hours of his inauguration, he expanded the list of deportable offenses, increased ICE’s budget to hire additional agents, redirected Department of Defense funding to assist in deportations and ordered the FBI’s joint terrorism task force — the nation’s front line against domestic and foreign terrorism — to enforce Trump’s immigration plans. 

Everything, in short, to conduct effective raids on immigrant communities. “I don’t want to say when, but it’s going to happen,” Trump said. 

In perhaps the most stunning move of his early presidency, Trump rolled back a policy from 2011 that barred federal authorities from making arrests at schools, churches and hospitals. The decision has terrified New York City’s migrant population, and some families have stopped seeking medical care, sending their children to school or reporting crimes like domestic violence for fear of being targeted.

“Sanctuary jurisdictions aren’t going to stop what we’re going to do,” Thomas D. Homan, Mr. Trump’s new border czar, said in an interview with NewsNation in December.

Under the law, the federal government holds primary authority over immigration. Though federal agents are beholden to the same limitations as any other form of law enforcement — they can’t enter a school or church without a federal warrant, for example — city officials technically cannot stop ICE agents from acting autonomously within the parameters of the law. 

However, city officials are also under no obligation to aid federal agents. The “anti-commandeering” doctrine, established by the Supreme Court, declares that the government cannot compel state or local officials to enforce federal laws. This discretion — the degree to which local officials choose to cooperate with federal authorities — may just determine the success of Trump’s deportation plans.

Local agencies serve as indispensable partners in identifying, detaining and transferring undocumented immigrants to federal custody. They have closer relationships with communities and access to databases, detention facilities, and personnel that federal agencies cannot match. In years past, immigration authorities have relied almost entirely on municipal prisons to screen and detain illegal immigrants for them. 

“Without the cooperation of local officials, [ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations’] ability to perform its federally mandated mission is hindered,” according to the ICE website. 

As an inevitable showdown between federal and city enforcement officials looms, each side is working within the law to prepare as best they can. The front lines of the battle, no doubt, will be fought in court, as both sides seek to challenge the jurisdiction of the other. 

Through it all, New York City migrants remain fearful of what will happen to their families.

“We’re here looking for a better future. We fled the violence and all that to come here, where there are many good things, and for us and our kids to feel protected,” a New York City asylum seeker told CBS News.

Some are fleeing shelters to avoid potential raids. “It is better to leave before,” Venezuelan migrant Kervin Nava, 31, told the New York Post outside a Long Island City shelter. “I am making arrangements, somewhere else.”

“We have the worry, what will happen with us? Will they deport us? Will they give us asylum or not?” one migrant man told FOX 5 New York.

Rep. Malliotakis confirmed mass deportations will occur in New York City soon.

“I met with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director] Tom Homan a couple weeks ago,” Rep. Malliotakis said to Spectrum News. “Chicago is first, but New York will be right after that. So, I don’t know exactly how many days it will take.”

When asked directly if New York would be next, she said, “Yes.”





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