By Hank Russell
The battle between incumbent Democrat governor Kathy Hochul and her Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, over Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers’ recent actions in Minneapolis has taken a nasty turn, with accusations of cowardice from both sides.
Last month, Hochul introduced the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which prevents ICE from using local jails and police officers to enable ICE operations against innocent civilians, making sure local resources aren’t being used to do the work of a federal agency and prohibits federal law enforcement from entering sensitive areas — such as homes, churches and schools — without a judicial warrant. She said she will also advance legislation that will give New Yorkers the right to sue federal officials if their constitutional rights have been violated.
“Over the last year federal immigration agents have carried out unspeakable acts of violence against Americans under the guise of public safety,” Hochul said. “These abuses — and the weaponization of local police officers for civil immigration enforcement — will not stand in New York.”
Blakeman, meanwhile, has boasted that county officers have worked with ICE and said the partnership has kept dangerous criminals in custody and prevented their release under state bail rules.
“These critical agreements have long helped remove violent offenders — including murderers, sex traffickers, gang members, and other dangerous criminals — from our streets, and assisted police in keeping them in custody when Hochul’s bail law would otherwise force their release,” Blakeman said.” Now, local law enforcement’s hands are tied, and these criminals will be released back into our communities.”
“These are not minor offenders — these are people who have committed some of the most violent and heinous crimes imaginable,” he added.
Blakeman blasted Hochul’s legislation, calling her “the most pro-criminal governor in the United States.” He said, “By banning local law enforcement partnerships with ICE, Hochul is allowing dangerous criminals to return to our neighborhoods. That ends when I’m governor.”
The battle over ICE became personal when the Hochul campaign ripped into the county executive over his appearance on The Tara Palmeri Show podcast. When Palmeri asked Blakeman if Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis nurse who was shot and killed by ICE agents, he replied, “Come on, you can ask a better question than that. The fact of the matter is, it’s not whether or not, it’s not whether or not, it’s not whether or not he deserved to die. The question is, is it right, is it legal, and is it good for the community, and the fabric of the community to have people throw bottles and rocks at federal law enforcement?”
Palmeri said Pretti wasn’t throwing rocks and bottles “in that case,” to which Blakeman replied, “Other people were, and it created a dangerous environment.” When Palmeri said Pretti was “actually was trying to de-escalate” the situation, Blakeman shot back, “You don’t know what he did. You weren’t there.” He also said he saw “two different videos” other than what the media was showing “We’re gonna wait,” he said. “Why the rush to judgment?”
She later asked him if an ICE officer who shot and killed an unarmed person should be back on the street. “Let me ask you a question,” Blakeman said. “Do you think there should be thousands of people who came here illegally and are engaged in criminal activity, rape, and attempted murder should be here on the streets of America?”
Hochul spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said Blakeman is “too much of a coward to stand up to their families” by refusing to condemn the shooting of Pretti by ICE. “If you’re running for governor of New York, you should be able to condemn an innocent American getting gunned down in the street by Trump’s federal agents – Bruce Blakeman can’t,” he said. “There’s nothing he won’t do or say to defend Donald Trump and the abuses of his administration.”
In response, Blakeman challenged her to a debate. “Kathy Hochul, let’s see who the real coward is. Let’s do a TV debate right now on this issue. You defend your embrace of criminality versus my support of law enforcement and the rule of law and let the people decide. Or are you too chicken?”