NYC official appears to defy mayor’s deportation agenda by urging legal aid donations for illegal aliens

A New York City official appeared to defy Democrat Mayor Eric Adams’ deportation agenda by urging people to donate to a nonprofit organization providing free legal aid to illegal aliens.

Elizabeth Vladeck, the general counsel for the city’s Department of Education, shared a post on X in December encouraging donations to the Florence Immigration & Refugee Rights Project.

‘Bucking the mayor behind his back.’

She wrote, “Your support is essential in furthering our mission to provide free legal and social services to detained adults and unaccompanied children facing immigration removal proceedings. Make a gift to the Florence Project today!”

Vladeck’s post linked to the nonprofit’s donation page. The webpage read, “You can stand with immigrants – make a gift today!”

According to the organization’s website, it provides assistance to “detained immigrants” facing immigration removal proceedings by offering “pro bono legal and social services.”

A Department of Education source told the New York Post, “You have a senior member of the administration, the top attorney for the city’s largest agency, who is basically bucking the mayor behind his back.”

The Department of Education defended Vladeck’s post on social media, telling the Post that she created it “on her own time.” The department insisted that Vladeck followed proper employee protocol.

David Bloomfield, an education professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Grad Center, told the news outlet, “Her call to support the organization is consistent with DOE policies to uphold immigrant student rights, and to hold immigration authorities to their legal obligations.”

Vladeck did not respond to a request for comment and City Hall did not have a comment, the Post reported.

Roughly two weeks before Vladeck’s social media post, Adams met with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan.

While Adams has stated that he does not back Trump’s mass deportation plan, he pledged to help the administration remove illegal aliens who have committed violent crimes in the U.S.

Homan reported that the meeting with Adams “went great.”

“He gets it. And today he proved that as the mayor of New York City, he’s more concerned with public safety than politics,” Homan told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

“He wants to help ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] look for national security threats. He wants to help ICE find over 340,000 missing children, which many of them are going to be in the city,” he added.

Adams’ plan to talk with Homan prompted a protest outside City Hall, where activists urged the mayor to “reject Homan” and “family separation.” One protester accused Adams of “cozying up to the Trump administration.”

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