New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) told Tucker Carlson that former President Joe Biden's "politicized" Department of Justice "targeted" him for daring to criticize the administration's immigration policies.

During the interview, released Tuesday evening, Adams told Carlson that he made 100 trips to Washington, D.C., to express his concerns about the "onslaught" of immigrants arriving in New York City and the administration's "failed border policy."

'Punishment for complaining.'

In September, Adams was indicted for allegedly accepting $10 million in illegal foreign donations and bribes, including from the Turkish government. Adams has repeatedly denied the charges.

Carlson called the indictment "ridiculous," stating that the mayor was essentially facing criminal charges for accepting flight upgrades and allowing Turkish officials to occupy their own consulate in Manhattan.

"You heard the president [Biden] state that his Justice Department was politicized," Adams told Carlson. "You heard the incoming president [Donald Trump] stating that it's politicized."

Adams explained that when he spoke with Biden and his aides about the immigration crisis, he was told to "be a good Democrat, Eric."

"That was the basic overall theme. One of his aides told me that, 'Listen, this is like a gallstone; it'll pass,'" Adams said.

Later in the interview, the mayor elaborated on the reception he received from the administration.

"I think they used the terminology, 'You were not being a good Democrat.' I think that was their philosophy. That I was supposed to silently watch what happens to this city, and I love this city," he said.

The immigration crisis in New York City cost its taxpayers $6.5 billion, according to Adams, who noted that the Biden administration offered to give the city an "unrealistic" $138 million to offset the expenses.

When asked whether he believed the federal indictment was "punishment for complaining" about the immigration crisis, Adams responded, "That is clearly my belief."

Due to the ongoing litigation, Adams noted that he "can't go into detail" about why he believes Biden's DOJ indicted him but noted that there were "several aspects" that indicate he was "targeted."

Adams expressed serious concerns about the future ramifications of the immigration crisis on cities like New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and Houston.

"The long-term impact has yet to materialize," he continued. "After COVID, we're dealing with a severe mental health issue just throughout the entire country. But specifically here in New York, we have a substantial number of chronically absent young people who are just traumatized from COVID and other things, and they just stopped coming to school."

Adams stated that the taxpayer dollars that went toward addressing the immigration crisis could have been used for other priorities, including dyslexia screening, housing, and senior care.

"If I had $200 million that I can go out and go find those young people and place them back on the correct course, I'm preventing the long-term problem. If you don't educate, you're going to incarcerate. That's the common denominator in all of our prisons — the lack of education," he said.

Adams repeated the claim that his "hands were tied" throughout the ongoing immigration crisis, stating he was unable to stop the buses transporting foreign nationals into the city, could not grant immigrants work authorization to support themselves, and was thus compelled to use taxpayer funds for their housing.

The mayor, who once expressed his commitment to the city's sanctuary status, has since walked back his support, calling on the city council to revise its policies to allow local officials to cooperate with federal immigration agents to deport illegal aliens committing crimes in the city.

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