Gov. Kathy Hochul promised a public “list” that would outline how New York would cooperate with federal immigration authorities under President Trump – but that list was never released.
Hochul has dodged drawing any firm lines about working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies as anti-illegal immigration raids were unleashed across the country — saying she supports cooperation when it comes to criminal migrants without offering specifics.
In December, Hochul claimed “we have a whole list” of crimes that would trigger the state to hand over migrants to ICE among criticisms that the state’s sanctuary policies were giving cover to accused criminals in the country illegally.
“We’ll be announcing this probably before the end of the year or early next year,” Hochul pledged. “I think the public has a right to know. Law enforcement needs to know where I’m coming from.
“Washington needs to know where we’re going to be helpful, what we’re going to do and I’ll be very clear on this so everyone has no doubt in their mind what the situation will look like in the state of New York,” Hochul added.
The softened approach towards the illegal immigration crackdown was a turnaround from the first Trump administration after a spiraling migrant crisis that sparked backlash against Democrats nationally and were credited with boosting Republicans around the country.
But as ICE conducted its first high-profile operations in the Big Apple Monday, Hochul’s list had yet to materialize.
Hochul spokesperson Matt Janiszewski said the “list” was really four broad categories based on the 2017 executive order that made New York a sanctuary state — which was issued by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Hochul’s spokesperson said the four situations where New York can coordinate with immigration officials include when someone has been convicted of a crime, when they’re suspected of an immigration crime, when relevant to investigating a crime committed in New York, and when they are suspected of a crime with multinational dimensions such as trafficking.
Hochul noted in December that illegally crossing into the US in the first place is a crime but said it wouldn’t trigger cooperation on its own.
“It is technically a misdemeanor to cross into this country. I’m talking about crimes where you’re harming individuals, stealing property,” Hochul said.
The governor downplayed Monday’s immigration activity and said she’s supportive of ICE going after migrants who have committed crimes.
“There has always been ICE raids in the state of New York,” Hochul told reporters after an unrelated press conference in Schenectady. “Even in the past. I mean this is not a new dynamic.”
But she said she had communicated her sanctuary city policy with the public and law enforcement, despite the lack of the promised list.
“We’ve been very crystal clear in our approach with this,” she said.