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NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump鈥檚 border czar joined New York City鈥檚 mayor on Tuesday to tout new federal charges against 27 people accused of being Tren de Aragua gang members and associates.

The joint announcement is the latest example of the close ties between Mayor Eric Adams and the Trump administration, which dropped federal corruption charges against the Democrat, who is now running for reelection as an independent, so he could better focus on the Republican president鈥檚 immigration priorities.

Trump, in his nationwide immigration crackdown, has labeled Tren de Aragua an invading force as he invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a little-used authority from 1798 that allows the president to deport any noncitizen during wartime.

鈥淓very member of TDA should be on the run,鈥� declared Thomas Homan, Trump’s border czar, referring to the initials of the gang, which originated in Venezuela more than a decade ago and has been linked to a series of kidnappings, extortion and other crimes throughout the Western Hemisphere.

The New York state native also took a swipe at a City Council lawsuit seeking to prevent Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials from operating at the city鈥檚 Rikers Island jail complex.

鈥淭his is what collaboration looks like,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 never asked the city or the NYPD to be immigration officers. I asked them to work with us on significant public safety threats and national security threats, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e committed to doing.鈥�

A New York judge ordered city officials on Monday to temporarily halt the plan to let ICE and other federal agencies establish offices at the massive lockup until an April 25 hearing.

Adams, who recently had his federal corruption charges dropped by the Trump administration so he could focus on the president鈥檚 immigration priorities, said Tuesday鈥檚 announcement showed he remains 鈥渦napologetic鈥� in his desire to rid the city鈥檚 streets of violent immigrant gangs.

鈥淭he question that we must answer is whose side are you on?鈥� the Democrat said. 鈥淎re you on the side of those who are carrying these illegal guns, wreaking havoc, sex trafficking, harming innocent people regardless of their documentation, or are you on the side of hardworking New Yorkers and Americans? I鈥檓 clear on which side I鈥檓 on.鈥�

Manhattan prosecutors say the case is the first to bring federal racketeering charges, which were famously used to bring down the Mafia, against the Venezuelan street gang. The more than two dozen accused also face charges including sex trafficking, drug trafficking, robbery, and firearms possession.

Prosecutors said those arrested smuggled young women from Venezuela into Peru and the U.S. The women, who they referred to as 鈥渕ultadas,鈥� paid off their debts through prostitution and were threatened with violence and death.

The gang members also committed armed robberies and smuggled illegal drugs, including a substance called 鈥渢usi鈥� that contains ketamine, prosecutors said.

Of the 27 charged, 21 are in custody, including five arrested Monday and Tuesday in operations in New York and elsewhere, they said. Six others remain at large.

The charges are broken out into two separate indictments, one for six alleged members of Tren de Aragua and the other charging 19 alleged members of 鈥淎nti-Tren,鈥� a splinter faction made up of former Tren members.

Among those named in Tuesday鈥檚 indictment was Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, who was among those arrested back in January in the Bronx during some of the Trump administration鈥檚 first efforts to ramp up immigration enforcement in the city.

Authorities say the 26-year-old was part of a group of heavily armed men seen in a now-viral video forcing their way into an apartment in Aurora, Colorado, raising fears that Tren de Aragua was in control of the rundown complex in the Denver suburbs.

Zambrano-Pacheco鈥檚 lawyer didn鈥檛 immediately comment Tuesday.

Adams rejected the notion that many of those apprehended by immigration and law enforcement officials in recent months are otherwise law-abiding people.

鈥淭he American dream is not armed robbery. The American dream is not discharging guns. The American dream is not shooting at police officers. The American dream is not going into homeless shelters and taking the documentation from innocent people and forcing them into sex trafficking,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not the American dream, and we鈥檙e not going to be a safe harbor for criminals.鈥�

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