New York Mayor Eric Adams responded to the news of the attack on a pair of police officers with a call for legal reform for immigration.

Adams appeared Wednesday on PIX 11 News after a New York Police Department officer and lieutenant were attacked by several immigrants just outside a shelter near Times Square. Host Kori Chambers asked Adams about the fact that the seven people arrested after the attack had immigrated to the city.

“All across our country, big cities are having to do the national government’s job,” Adams said. “And those migrants who are here because they want to be part of the American dream, we say yes to that. But those who are breaking our laws, we need to reexamine the laws that don’t allow us to deport them, because they’re doing violent acts. We cannot create an atmosphere where you’re going to bring violence into our city.”

Adams clarified that the “overwhelming number of migrants” are nonviolent and simply pursuing the American dream. The mayor said over 157,000 immigrants have arrived in New York City since last year. That population is 1 1/2 times the size of Albany, New York.

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While police are still searching for other suspects involved in the Times Square attack, all those who have been arrested so far were released with no bail within hours of their respective arrests.

According to the most recent press release from the office of Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), over 37,500 immigrants New York City received were sent by Texas since August 2022. This effort has also sent immigrants to Los Angeles, Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington due to those cities’ claims to be sanctuary cities.