By Hank Russell
Local politicians and a top-ranking member of Congress blasted Governor Kathy Hochul’s House testimony on “sanctuary states” before a congressional committee, calling it “more spin than substance.”
On June 12, Hochul testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on sanctuary states and immigration reform. Also testifying were Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Minnesota Governor and former vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.
While speaking before Chairman James Comer (R-Kentucky), Hochul told Comer that New York is not a sanctuary state; rather, it was the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that did not do its job in picking up illegal aliens. According to Hochul, between August 20, 2021 and May 30, 2025, 1,343 undocumented immigrants were released to ICE, but ICE did not pick up 120 migrants.
“My views on immigration are simple and direct — our nation needs secure borders,” Hochul said in prepared remarks. “Our nation needs comprehensive immigration reform from this Congress. Our state laws dictate that we cooperate with ICE in criminal cases. And our values dictate that we treat all law-abiding families with dignity and respect.”
But Hochul said she was disappointed and angry to see President Trump ordering ICE to round up all illegal immigrants in the state. “[A]s we speak, the streets of an American city have been militarized over the objections of the governor,” she said. “This is nothing short of a flagrant abuse of power, an assault on our American values.”
She told Comer of “children ripped from the arms of their mothers,” “wives separated from their husbands” and “families arrested while attending legal immigration appointments. … In New York, we understand the difference between going after criminals and traumatizing law-abiding families.”
Hochul said the state has provided compassion to those who came in illegally, but Comer said the compassion came at a huge cost to the state’s taxpayers.
“Governor Hochul’s sanctuary policies cost taxpayers billions to house, feed, and provide driver’s licenses for illegal aliens while the cost to rent rises and hospitals are overrun,” Comer said. “Her defiance of federal law invites crime to plague communities across the state.”
Assemblyman Keith Brown (R-Northport) said that, while New Yorkers should show compassion to those who are looking to make a better life for themselves and their families, “that compassion must never come at the expense of public safety.”
Comer accused Hochul and the other governors of “willfully ignor[ing] federal law, shield[ing] illegal aliens, and pass[ing] the cost of free services onto their hard-working taxpayers.”
State Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) called Hochul’s testimony “a failed demonstration of leadership. It’s my hope that my colleagues in the state Legislature viewed it the same and that we finally work toward correcting course on migrant and sanctuary policies.”
During the hearings on June 13, Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-Jamestown) said that a Peruvian gang member who was responsible for 23 murders in his home country was “hiding in plain sight” in the city fo Endicott “thanks to the state’s Green Light Law,” which does not require the state to cooperate with ICE. It “ties law enforcement’s hands,” he said.
Hochul accused Langworthy of “misstating the Green Light Law” and there were “countess, countless instances when we worked with federal law enforcement.”
Congressmember Elise Stefanik (R-Plattsburgh), the presumptive GOP governor nominee, pointed out that Hochul signed the executive order three times that allowed New York to be a sanctuary state. She also asked her if Hochul knew who Sakir Akkan or Sebastian Zapeta were. Hochul claimed she was unfamiliar with both men; Stefanik reminded her that Akkan was arrested for the violent rape of a girl in Albany and Zapeta was arrested for setting a woman sleeping on the subway floor on fire.
Stefanik continued to grill Hochul on her knowledge of the criminal illegal migrants and the crimes they committed, but Hochul kept insisting the state consistently works with federal law enforcement.
“I just want to say these crimes are horrific —,” Hochul said.
“Because of your state sanctuary policies,” Stefanik interrupted.
“Gov. Hochul had the opportunity to take responsibility before Congress for the policies that helped fuel New York’s alarming and ongoing migrant crisis,” Ra said. “Instead, she took no ownership, appeared clueless when questioned about high-profile migrant-committed crimes, and deflected blame.”
“The governor’s testimony offered more spin than substance,” Brown added. “It’s time to move away from blanket sanctuary policies that cost taxpayers billions of dollars, tie the hands of local law enforcement and put public safety at risk. We need a more pragmatic approach that provides a clear path for those who are legitimately seeking to immigrate legally into our country, secure borders, local input and a clear commitment to protecting all New Yorkers.”