Politics
JUST IN: Blue State Announces $50 Million In Taxpayer Dollars For Illegals
Shortly after defending their records in front of Congress as competent managers of the migrant crisis, Democratic governors have returned to what they know best: handing out taxpayer dollars to shield illegal immigrants from deportation.
One, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, took things a step further on Tuesday following the detainment of an illegal immigrant by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that briefly resulted in the arrest of the city’s comptroller and Democratic candidate for mayor.
At a hastily arranged press conference, Hochul declared that she would be including a $50 million line item in the state’s next budget offering free legal assistance to illegal immigrants in New York facing deportation.
“Walking out of this courthouse, taken away from their families, they don’t have the attention. They don’t have the lawyers,” the Democrat said of illegal immigrants shortly after New York City comptroller Brad Lander was released from custody.
“And that’s why the state of New York is providing $50 million to cover legal services for people who are finding themselves in this situation,” she announced.
It’s unclear if Hochul intends to fund an entirely new line item or add to the $10 million already set aside by state lawmakers after the Trump administration launched an investigation into allegations that New York Attorney General Letitia James committed mortgage fraud. The addition was widely seen at the time as a specific allocation to assist James.
New York has spent over $7.5 billion on the migrant crisis since 2022, according to CBS News, when a historic deluge of new arrivals overwhelmed city services and led to tragic scenes of families huddled together for warmth on city sidewalks. Mayor Eric Adams excoriated the Biden administration for taking a lenient approach toward border protection, coupled with its expansion of asylum programs.
Without federal assistance, city officials project that New York may spend as much as an additional $12 billion over the next three years, according to Bloomberg.
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Central to the controversy is a refusal by state and local officials, most of whom are Democrats, to cooperate with deportation efforts by ICE.
On Tuesday, Lander was arrested after linking arms with a suspected illegal immigrant being targeted by immigration authorities, refusing to let go until they showed a warrant. The Democratic mayoral candidate was thrown to the ground and placed in handcuffs, another dramatic scene of far-left officials literally going to the mat to oppose President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Lander was released several hours later, with federal authorities saying they have no plans to file charges.
Still, the imagery was reminiscent of last week’s arrest of U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), who was handcuffed on his stomach after interrupting a press conference by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Critics denounced Noem and Trump for allowing personnel to manhandle a sitting senator while administration officials condemned Padilla for grandstanding and creating a security risk.
Opposition to Trump’s immigration agenda is proving to be good fodder for Lander on the campaign trail. On Wednesday, the New York Times released a new poll showing he is tightening the race with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, currently the frontrunner to become the Democrats’ mayoral nominee to succeed Hochul.
