During an interview on CNN on Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) stated that President Joe Biden will take executive action on the border, but hasn’t done so yet in the nearly two weeks since he said he was looking at it because they need to craft something that will hold up in court.
Host Wolf Blitzer asked, “I know you’ve said, Governor, that you welcome the President’s taking more executive action on immigration. Given the daily strain on New York resources right now, are you concerned that we still haven’t seen specific, hardcore movement from the White House on this very, very sensitive issue?”
After criticizing Republicans for not supporting the Senate bill, Hochul stated, “So, executive actions, they will be — they’re being developed right now. I’ve been in communication with them. They will happen, but it shouldn’t have to come to this, Wolf. There is a path. There was an opportunity. They could have solved this. Even the President went down to the border and reached his hand out to Donald Trump and said, let’s solve this together and Donald Trump said no.”
Blitzer then asked, “Let me quickly follow up, Governor. It was what, almost two weeks ago, when the President told you and other governors who were visiting in Washington, he’s considering taking executive action because of Congress’ inaction, right now. With 600 migrants a day arriving in New York City, how much longer can your state wait?”
Hochul answered, “Well, we want to get this done as soon as possible. But, as everyone knows, there are going to be people who bring litigation the second he does this. He tried action last May, for example, and, for a while, we had some cessation of people coming across the border — at least it slowed down a lot. We felt a difference. What happened next? People went to court, they sued, and the judge shut down the program and all the chaos started again. That’s what the Biden administration is trying to be thoughtful about, to come up with a path that will — make sure that it’s sustainable [in] court. So, that’s the pause right now, the delay, but I know they’re anxious to get this under control, just as much as we are. And we know that’ll happen in short order.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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