Governor Kathy Hochul today held a press conference with Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of law enforcement, immigration and community leaders to highlight a recent lawsuit against the Trump Administration aimed at protecting a new package of state laws that establish critical accountability measures related to immigration and law enforcement operations in New York. The lawsuit comes at the same time as the Trump Administration's latest attack on the legislation that prohibits local, state and federal law enforcement officers from concealing their identities with masks while interacting with the public and ensures that local law enforcement can remain focused on community safety priorities. The complaint, filed by the Attorney General at the Governor's request, asks the court to affirm the legality of these laws and prevent the Trump Administration from interfering with New York's authority to protect public safety, promote transparency and govern the use of state and local resources.

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.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

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

Good morning everyone, I want to thank the individuals that are standing behind me and standing alongside me as we continue to fight the policies that have been unleashed by the Trump administration, wreaking havoc in our very state. There is no greater fighter that you want to be in a battle with than our Attorney General, Tish James. I want to thank her for many, many fights and many successes, many successes, you and Attorneys General across the country have really stood up. I welcome our elected officials. Assemblymember Tony Simone has joined us, let's give him a round of applause. Our Brooklyn D.A., Eric Gonzalez, I appreciate you. As you heard, we have the president of the New York Immigration Coalition, Murad Awawdeh, Murad. Frankie Miranda, the President and CEO of the Hispanic Federation. Police Chief of Middletown, Chief John Ewanciw. Superintendent of Police Stephen James, of the State Police and Bishop Fernando Rodriguez.

As Governor, public safety is my number one priority - always has been, always will be. Over the last few months, we've had many conversations on this topic. How do we keep New Yorkers safe? How do we make sure that law enforcement has the resources they need? And how do we make sure that the public has the confidence in the people entrusted in enforcing our laws? Those are the questions that shaped the laws that I signed as part of this year's budget. Laws that keep local cops focused on local crimes and ensure that law enforcement in the State of New York carries out their duties openly and transparently. Because no one, even law enforcement, is above the law. That's a principle that is a cornerstone of our democracy and at the heart of these provisions, some of which are scheduled to take effect this Friday. And that's why New York has to take legal action to protect them. Working with Attorney General James, we are going to court to defend these laws and affirm what we believe is clear: they are constitutional and they make New Yorkers safer. Now, at the same time, the federal government has chosen to challenge portions of our new law in court.

So let me be very, very clear. New York stands behind them and will defend them every step of the way. And I'm proud to be joined today by advocates, community leaders, law enforcement officials, clergy who understand what is at stake at this moment. People come from all different backgrounds but share a belief in public safety, accountability and trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. What New York enacted is a simple, common sense public policy. First, as I said, local cops should be focused on solving local crimes. New York taxpayers pay taxes knowing that their money goes to their local police departments to keep their communities safe. They expect their local law enforcement to investigate shootings, murders, prevent violence, respond to emergencies, and protect their neighborhoods. They do not expect their local law enforcement resources to be diverted away from those responsibilities to carry out civil immigration enforcement on behalf of the Trump administration and on behalf of ICE. That is not what people think they're paying for when they're paying their taxes.

They do not want that, they want the police to focus on keeping them and their communities safe, not being deputized as ICE agents. Again, ICE doesn't even need them. They're a bloated agency with $85 billion, one of the largest agencies in the federal government. They should not even be talking to our local police when it comes to wanting help with civil immigration enforcement. Now that is the idea behind what we just enacted. Now, nothing prevents law enforcement from cooperating with federal authorities when criminal activity is involved. We are very clear on this, we will always do that to protect our communities. Dangerous criminals should be and must be apprehended; violent offenders should be prosecuted. Law enforcement agencies at every level should continue coordinating on legitimate, serious criminal matters. But as I said, local taxpayers should not be paying local officers to do the federal job. Again, that's just common sense, but also gets down to trust, and trust requires accountability. That's why joining with the legislature, we passed a law that if someone is exercising law enforcement authority here in New York, they should not be able to conceal their identity from the public, because hiding your face is nothing more than a fear tactic - an intimidation tactic. And that's not how we keep people safe in this state. And this law applies equally to local, federal and state officials.

It does not create one separate set of rules for law enforcement at the federal level or for ICE and another set of rules for everyone else. It's exactly the same across the board. Now, law enforcement routinely perform dangerous and difficult jobs while identifying themselves in public, they always have - always have. The law recognizes that reality, and it contains common sense exceptions like medical masks or necessary tactical equipment, we understand that. But as a general rule, I say New Yorkers have a right to know who is exercising government authority in their communities. It's not a radical idea. It's a fundamental principle of a democratic government for nearly 250 years, American law enforcement officers didn't regularly hide their faces. As our nation approaches our new anniversary of 250 years, they don't need to do so now. There's no reason why they need to do so now. And as part of the broader package we enacted, we followed the same approach protecting constitutional rights, protecting due process, and protecting public safety.

We'll also protect sensitive locations so people can worship freely without fear and send their kids to school without fear of being apprehended. Seek medical care and essential services without fear or intimidation or being taken off our streets. We also want to ensure that state and local law enforcement are being used as intended. We have invested over $3 billion in law enforcement. I've done many events with law enforcement across the state to make sure they have the latest technology and they have the resources they need. That is not intended, nor do I want it to be used for local ICE enforcement, and that's what we're putting an end to. At a time when trust in public institutions is under immense strain, the answer is not less transparency, it is more. At a time when communities are looking for accountability, the answer is not secrecy, it's openness. At a time when local law enforcement is working hard with agencies to keep our record numbers in crime going down. I mean, it's extraordinary to see what is happening with crime in this city, in this state going down.

We want to keep that going, protect people; again, not having our police diverted for law enforcement purposes on behalf of ICE and civil immigration enforcement. So we're not going to allow them to be diverted from their mission. It allows us to keep New Yorkers safe, that's what these laws do. Now, no surprise here, but the federal government has decided to challenge us, and we're ready. We are confident that these laws and the values they reflect will be upheld. We believe that people exercising law enforcement should be held accountable to the public. No matter who you are or what badge you wear, you are not above the law.

Now, to talk about how we're going to do this, I'm going to turn this over to the Attorney General, Tish James. I want to thank her for filing the lawsuit that was necessary within minutes of the federal government trying to attack what we just put in motion in laws that we responded immediately and says, "no, we are going to court to protect our right to have the laws that we choose by the duly enacted elected officials in the state of New York." That is something I will defend, and I really appreciate the incredible work of the Attorney general and her office to help us send a message clearly and as quickly as humanly possible. What you did the other night when we responded with our own court proceedings. So I want to turn it over to you at this time. And I thank you again for your incredible partnership.