Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared that “there’s a new sheriff in town” on Monday as Edwin Raymond was sworn in to steer New York Metropolis’s Sheriff’s Workplace.
The well-worn line carried uncommon weight on the Brooklyn School ceremony, as Raymond, the son of Haitian immigrants, took workplace on the identical day Non permanent Protected Standing expired for greater than 300,000 Haitians residing in america.
He additionally inherits an company whose former chief, Anthony Miranda, was fired by Mamdani earlier this 12 months and is now below federal investigation for corruption inside the workplace.
Mamdani and different officers pointed to Raymond being the primary Haitian New Yorker to steer the Sheriff’s Workplace as each a milestone for the town’s Haitian group and the start of a brand new chapter for an company rising from a interval of obvious turmoil.
“Anyone who thinks that they can push Haitian New Yorkers out of this city, out of this country — ask me where Haitian New Yorkers are going to go,” Mamdani mentioned. “I tell them the only answer is up.”
The expiration adopted a Supreme Court docket ruling final month that cleared the way in which for the Trump administration to finish TPS for Haitians and Syrians. Non permanent lower-court orders had saved the protections in place by way of July 27.
TPS permits eligible immigrants to work in america and protects them from deportation when situations of their residence nations make returning unsafe. Haitians with out one other type of authorized immigration standing may now face deportation.
Mamdani’s message on Monday to Haitian New Yorkers who’re scared of what lies forward is that Metropolis Corridor and different metropolis and state officers stand with them. He joined officers on the ceremony in calling on Congress to offer a everlasting resolution.
State Lawyer Normal Letitia James, who administered Raymond’s oath of workplace, warned that the expiration would strip a whole bunch of 1000’s of Haitians of their authorized protections and authorization to work.
“Their lives will be upended today,” James mentioned.
5 days earlier, James joined 18 different attorneys common in urging Congress to increase TPS for Haitians, restore judicial oversight of selections ending the protections, and supply TPS holders with a path to authorized residency.
Their letter mentioned roughly 56,800 Haitian TPS holders stay in New York state and positioned the nationwide Haitian TPS inhabitants at roughly 350,000. The coalition urged the Senate to approve laws already handed by the Home that may prolong the protections till April 20, 2029.
“We are with you,” James instructed the Haitian group on Monday.
Earlier Monday, Mamdani mentioned he had instructed the Mayor’s Workplace of Immigrant Affairs to proceed connecting affected households with free and confidential authorized help. He mentioned metropolis providers would stay out there no matter immigration standing and urged Congress to offer everlasting protections earlier than extra dad and mom are separated from their kids.
New NYC Sheriff Raymond vows to achieve ‘community confidence’
Raymond turned emotional later within the ceremony as he mentioned his late dad and mom. He wiped away tears as he mentioned he had printed invites for them and deliberate to deliver the invites to their graves that night.
Raymond grew up in East Flatbush and spent 15 years within the NYPD, serving as an officer in Transit District 32 and the 77th Precinct earlier than rising to the rank of sergeant and lieutenant. He later served as a platoon commander within the 81st and 83rd precincts and as commanding officer of group affairs for Patrol Borough Brooklyn North.
He retired from the division in 2023 after changing into a outstanding inner critic of the NYPD after becoming a member of a 2015 lawsuit alleging that officers have been pressured to fulfill enforcement quotas in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods.
He later chronicled his expertise in “An Inconvenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America.” Raymond additionally acquired the NAACP’s Braveness Below Hearth Award.
After leaving the NYPD, he joined James’ workplace as its first regulation enforcement social justice liaison.
“Mayor Mamdani could not have chosen a better person to lead the New York City Sheriff’s Office,” James mentioned, earlier than jokingly asking the mayor to cease poaching workers from her workplace.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams used the ceremony to distinction Raymond’s elevation with the remedy of officers who challenged regulation enforcement establishments from inside. Williams mentioned Raymond ought to have been elevated inside the NYPD for the sort of policing he practiced, fairly than pushed out.
“To see you now, where you’re running your own law enforcement, is amazing,” Williams mentioned.
Earlier than talking, Williams wiped the Sheriff’s Workplace emblem on the rostrum, drawing laughter from Mamdani and others in attendance. He didn’t explicitly clarify the gesture, however went on to criticize earlier metropolis administrations that he mentioned had did not ship promised modifications to policing and public security.
“We had administrations that looked like the communities we came from, that spoke public safety language the way we spoke, and still things did not change the way it was supposed to,” Williams mentioned.
“What a difference an administration makes,” he added, saying the Mamdani administration is “finally getting this right.”
Williams additionally acknowledged that the Sheriff’s Workplace had performed worthwhile work up to now, pointing to its enforcement in opposition to massive gatherings throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He mentioned he anticipated the company to turn out to be “even better” below Raymond.
Finance Commissioner Richard Lee opened Monday’s ceremony by describing the Sheriff’s Workplace as a centuries-old establishment whose authority relies on sustaining the general public’s belief.
The workplace serves because the civil regulation enforcement division of the Division of Finance. Its deputies implement courtroom orders and judgments, execute orders of safety, seize unlawful firearms, examine tax fraud and help individuals experiencing psychological well being crises.
Mamdani mentioned Raymond would additionally oversee the workplace’s position in investigating deed theft by way of the administration’s newly created Workplace of Deed Theft Prevention.
Raymond didn’t announce main modifications for the workplace on Monday. As a substitute, he promised to steer the workplace with transparency and professionalism and to rebuild confidence within the company.
“Public office is not about status,” Raymond mentioned. “It’s not about power. It’s about stewardship.”
He pledged to strengthen relationships with the communities the workplace serves and foster a tradition of moral management amongst its workers.
“Community confidence is not given,” Raymond mentioned. “It is earned every day.”
