New York City Mayor Eric Adams, indicted on federal corruption charges, claims he is a Department of Justice (DOJ) “target” because he has spoken publicly about illegal immigration. Several other Democrats, though, have done the same and have not been indicted by the DOJ on federal charges.

On Thursday, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Adams, charging him with one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery, one count of wire fraud, two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe.

According to the indictment, for almost a decade, Adams used his political power in New York City to secure illegal campaign contributions and first-class international travel, particularly from Turkish officials, in exchange for favoritism from the city’s government.

In defending himself, Adams claims he is “a target” of the DOJ because he has spoken publicly about illegal immigration and its impact on New York City:

When the federal government did nothing when its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics. Now, if I am charged, many may say I should resign … make no mistake, you elected me to lead this city, and lead it I will. [Emphasis added]

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied such claims Thursday.

“The president was clear … that he was going to make sure that DOJ is independent, and the DOJ is handling this case independently,” Jean-Pierre said.

As hundreds of thousands of migrants arrived in the city over the last three years, Adams has said the issue would “destroy” the city.

“Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to,” Adams said in September of last year. “I don’t see an ending to this. I don’t see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City, destroy New York City. We’re getting 10,000 migrants a month.”

Earlier this year, Adams said New York City was “out of room, literally” due to the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants coming from the United States-Mexico border.

Adams has never asked President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris to stop the inflow of migrants to the U.S. Instead, he has routinely called on the administration to “fairly distribute” migrants across American communities.

Adams’ plea to Biden and Harris included expedited work permits for newly arrived migrants, more taxpayer funding to states and cities accepting migrants, and amnesty for the 11 million to 22 million illegal aliens already living in the U.S.

In response to the migrant crisis, Adams also set up a massive taxpayer-funded scheme to transfer wealth into the hands of the city’s powerful hotel industry — paying hotel owners to become migrant hotels that continue to house thousands of migrants today.

Most recently, Adams started providing thousands of migrants with pre-loaded debit cards, paid for by the city’s taxpayers.

Though Adams claims the DOJ is targeting him for being vocal about illegal immigration, several other Democrat elected officials have been just as vocal but have not been indicted by federal prosecutors.

Just this year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said New Yorkers needed “a break” from illegal immigration inundating the state.

Late last year, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) sent a letter to the Biden-Harris administration complaining that illegal immigration has posed an “enormous strain” on his state’s taxpayers and called the migrant crisis an “untenable situation.”

Similarly, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) sent a letter to Biden and Harris in December of last year, pleading with the administration to foot the bill in more than $500 million worth of costs to the state’s taxpayers associated with illegal immigration.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.