Federal Judge Seizes Control of NYC’s Rikers Island in Sweeping Takeover Order

In a historic blow to New York City’s failed leadership, a federal judge has stripped control of Rikers Island and the city’s jail system from Mayor Eric Adams, handing authority to the federal government after years of unchecked violence, systemic failures, and outright defiance of court-ordered reforms.

Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, a Clinton appointee, delivered a scathing 77-page ruling Tuesday ordering that the entire NYC Department of Correction (DOC) be placed under the authority of a court-appointed officer, effectively gutting local control over the city’s correctional facilities.

“The unsafe and dangerous conditions in the jails… have become normalized despite the fact that they are clearly abnormal and unacceptable,” Judge Swain wrote.

The ruling stems from the 2011 Nunez v. City of New York case, where inmates alleged a widespread pattern of excessive force and brutality by jail staff. Although the city agreed to sweeping reforms in the 2015 Nunez Consent Judgment, Swain noted that nearly a decade later, the conditions remain dangerously unconstitutional.

“Nine years have passed since the parties first agreed that the perilous conditions in the Rikers Island jails were unconstitutional; that the level of unconstitutional danger has not improved… is both alarming and unacceptable,” she added.

Swain’s ruling is a direct response to NYC’s repeated defiance of federal mandates. In November, she held the city in civil contempt for violating 18 different court orders tied to reducing violence and systemic dysfunction in the jail system.

As a result, the judge appointed a Nunez Remediation Manager, an independent official with sweeping authority to rewrite DOC policies governing use of force, staffing, discipline, and security. Unlike a traditional “receiver,” this official answers only to the federal court, not to City Hall.

Despite years of resistance, Mayor Eric Adams has backed down.

“If the federal judge made a determination that they want to do something else and they don’t like what we’re doing, it’s a federal judgment,” Adams admitted at a press briefing. “We’re going to follow the rules.”

Meanwhile, in a separate but significant development, Border czar Tom Homan revealed during a Fox News appearance that he had reached a private agreement with Mayor Adams to reintroduce federal immigration enforcement officers into Rikers Island—a move that would have been unthinkable under the city’s prior sanctuary policies.

“Getting ICE officers back in Rikers is meaningful,” Homan told Laura Ingraham. “I made it clear I want everybody. If you’re an illegal alien [and] you get booked into Rikers Island, I don’t care if it’s for shoplifting, I want ’em.”

The agreement signals a major policy reversal by the Adams administration, which previously resisted any cooperation with federal immigration officials. Homan also hinted at other undisclosed terms in the deal, likely to avoid interference from the far-left New York City Council.

“I’m not running a popularity contest. I came to New York to get meaningful action,” he said. “I’ll be back every week until all my conditions are met.”

With President Donald Trump back in charge, federal authorities are no longer tolerating sanctuary chaos, bureaucratic excuses, or local resistance to law and order. The takeover of Rikers Island marks a pivotal step in restoring discipline, accountability, and public safety in a city that has, for too long, refused to enforce its own laws.