New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) stated Sunday that he is weighing executive action to amend the city's sanctuary status, bypassing the Democratic-controlled New York City Council.

During an interview on WCBS-TV's "The Point with Marcia Kramer," Adams told Kramer that he is exploring his powers to get around the council's refusal to roll back New York City's sanctuary policies, which have thwarted Immigration and Customs Enforcement's efforts to remove criminal illegal aliens.

'I don't want to walk into a meeting with the border czar with preconceived notions and lines in the sand.'

He insisted that he has been advocating for more cooperation between ICE and New York City law enforcement prior to the November election.

"The city council made it clear that they don't want to change that," he said, referring to the council's resistance to alter the city's sanctuary laws.

"I think they're wrong," Adams declared.

He explained that his office is looking into his executive order powers to determine how he can circumvent the city council to protect the community from violent criminal illegal aliens.

"Once the city council made it clear, we're not changing the sanctuary city laws to allow [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to go after those dangerous offenders. Once they made that clear, I went to plan B and said, 'What are my options and my powers?'" Adams said.

He discussed his plans to meet with President-elect Donald Trump's incoming border czar, Tom Homan, on Thursday. The mayor has agreed to work with the administration to tackle the immigration crisis in New York City.

When asked about his goals for the sit-down with Homan, Adams told WCBS, "It's all about hearing in a very clear way what's the message and the goal of the border czar, and see how do we collaborate to deal with the securing of our borders and making sure that we can ensure that this city retains and continues to be the safest big city in America."

"I don't want to walk into a meeting with the border czar with preconceived notions and lines in the sand. I want to walk in and sit down with him and say, 'Let me hear your vision, and let me share what my vision is,'" he continued.

Adams called the public safety of New Yorkers his "north star," noting that his mission is to "deal with the small number of violent offenders who are making their way into our country."

The mayor stated that he hopes specifically to address the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which has significantly grown its influence in the United States over the past year.

The mayor highlighted the importance of border security and raised concerns about whether Venezuela is releasing its prisoners and permitting its criminal citizens to escape to the U.S., as Trump has repeatedly claimed.

Adams indicated that he is open to deporting alleged criminal illegal aliens before they are convicted, though he noted that he would prefer for criminals to serve time first.

"My belief has always been, I want you when you're arrested to serve your time because you're not giving justice to the person who was victimized by them because then if they go out, they can come right back into the country," Adams explained.

He expressed that foreign nationals pursuing the American dream should have an easier legal route to immigrate to the U.S., but he also suggested that they be guided to settle in regions where they are needed.

"We're dealing with a population problem in many of our municipalities. Why aren't we telling the individuals we allow to come into the country: 'You're going to go where we need you; you're going to fill the jobs that we're looking for'?" he said.

Adams was asked whether he would consider allowing ICE to reopen its outpost at Rikers Island.

Last week, New York City Council member Robert Holden, a fellow Democrat, challenged Adams to back up his "tough talk" on the city's sanctuary policies by reopening ICE's office to facilitate easier communication between the city and federal immigration agents.

Adams told Kramer on Sunday, "I heard one councilman state that, indicating a litmus test. I'm not into litmus tests. I'm into solving problems."

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