Hochul: We’re ‘Not a Sanctuary for Criminals’, ICE Should Stop Operating in NY at Least in Short Term

On Friday’s broadcast of MS NOW’s “Deadline: White House,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) stated that New York is “not a sanctuary for criminals,” and that she wants “a cessation of ICE activities in New York, at least in the short term.”

Hochul began by saying that the investigation of the shooting of a man by ICE is “ongoing, and we have insisted that the body cam footage be released to the public as soon as possible. This is exactly what I told the president last night. I also told that to Secretary Mullin. We insist on seeing the evidence of what exactly happened there. I also said I want a cessation of ICE activities in New York, at least in the short term. Let us calm everything down. I said, this is a tinderbox. When you go into a neighborhood, in broad daylight, and fire shots near a school with lots of kids around, and there’s a child in a car and you shoot into that vehicle, then there’s justified outrage from this community. And it basically is a statement that we have had enough.”

Later, she said, “If there’s a terrorist, a murderer, a rapist, our policies say we will help you remove them. It is New York state’s law and policy that we’ll cooperate with federal agencies when there is a court order or a warrant for someone’s arrest. We always have. This is not new. So, calling us a sanctuary state is a mischaracterization. It’s not a sanctuary for criminals, but we are a place for people who come to build a better life and their families and escape persecution and oppression and poverty. They are welcome here.”

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