Video, Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Responds to Border Czar Tom Homan and Stands Firm on Laws to Protect New Yorkers From Ice Overreach

Governor Kathy Hochul today responded to comments made by Border Czar Tom Homan to surge the presence of ICE agents in New York State. The Governor stands firm on the new protections enacted in the FY27 Executive Budget that will keep New York's communities safe, protect sensitive locations from civil immigration enforcement and hold federal agents accountable for violating the Constitution.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

I want to say something before we get started with off-topics. I want to first of all respond briefly to comments that have been made by Border Czar Tom Homan saying that he's planning to send an unprecedented number of ICE agents into New York State and New York City. First, I'm proud that we passed nation-leading legislation enacted to protect communities like Syracuse and others from ICE overreach. Also, these are commonsense measures to make sure that law enforcement will continue to work with federal law enforcement to ferret out criminals.

And for anyone to say otherwise is not telling the truth. We are very focused on helping communities be safe, and local law enforcement should be working with ICE to help remove criminals - full stop. This is what President Trump said he would do - go after the "baddest of the bad," the "worst of the worst," - and that's what we're willing to support.

So we don't want the resources of our localities going after civil immigration enforcement, harassing people, because ICE is an $85 billion agency. They have the resources. They have the personnel and our local police need to be focused on local crimes, and that's what's behind the law I just enacted with the State Legislature - focus local police on local crimes, use our local jails for local criminals.

And so I want to make sure we also tell ICE that we do not want you to enter sensitive locations, like places of worship and schools and polling places. Also say we don't think that ICE agents should be terrorizing communities by wearing masks. It's intimidating, it's threatening, and no other level of law enforcement from local to town to state or other federal wears masks.

So we want that to stop. We want the out-of-control ICE agents to stop what they've been doing but also say we will work with you when it comes to keeping communities safe. And so I took these steps because I believe that ICE has been trampling on the basic rights of Americans and including here in the State of New York.

I've met with a lot of these families. I sat with the family of a husband who was sent away just for walking to the Home Depot with his son; a mother whose son was arrested on the way to church - her son was taken on the way to church - and a father who spent eight months, I just met him recently, eight months living in hellish detention center conditions; and a young man from Downstate who literally was deported right before he could have graduated, walk across the stage, would have earned high honors from his high school, and he was sent to a country he did not even know.

So these are the stories that are innocent lives I want to make sure people are aware of, that I think ICE agents should be aware of what they're doing. So know this: We will work with you to deal with crimes - always have, always will. When someone has committed a crime and they're sentenced to jail and they complete that time, we will help you. I've sent over 1,600 people. We've contacted ICE and said, "These are the people you can take now. They committed a crime. They're convicted criminals. They should go."

But what we're not talking about is cooperating when it comes to harassing ordinary people living in our state, going about their lives in a lawful way, and that's why I thought it was necessary to put in protections in our law.

So I'm glad to hear Mr. Homan say he will not let a situation like what happened in Minneapolis happen in New York. But also, he should be reminded that the President of the United States told me one of the lessons of Minneapolis is, "We will not go where we're not welcome - where we're not invited." And he looked right at me and he says, "I will not go to New York unless Kathy asks me." I'm not asking. So let's hold to that. Let's dial back all the rhetoric and just get the job done.