Politics
‘You Did Not’: Elise Stefanik Brutally Grills Kathy Hochul In Fiery Hearing
A vicious back and forth between New York officials encapsulated a congressional hearing on Thursday that drew attention to sanctuary policies for illegal immigrants in blue cities and states around the country.
The viral moment, highlighted by C-SPAN, came when Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) cornered Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul about an executive order signed on her first day in office instructing state officials to ignore federal civil detainers. Some were rejected for illegal immigrants who were later released and went on to commit horrific crimes, including the high-profile immolation of a New Yorker on a subway in 2024.
Her voice quivering, Stefanik challenged Hochul to reject a policy she has repeatedly reauthorized, most recently in January.
“This is a continuation of your predecessor’s sanctuary state policies,” she said.
“I want to be sure we are defining sanctuary state properly,” Hochul replied before being cut off.
“I’ll define it for you,” Stefanik responded. “It is the policy of the state that state officers or employees shall not disclose information to federal immigration authorities for the purpose of civil federal immigration enforcement.”
The Republican lawmaker pointed to the cases of several illegal immigrants who had civil detainers lodged by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, only to see New York officials refuse to honor them. Each time, Gov. Hochul was stumped when asked by Stefanik if she recalled the name of each suspect.
“Do you know who Saqir Akkan is?” she asked the governor. “You should, as the governor of New York State.”
“Refresh my recollection,” Hochul responded.
Akkan was an illegal immigrant from Turkey who in 2025 pleaded guilty to the third-degree rape of a 15-year-old New York girl. Border officials say he crossed illegally from Mexico in 2023.
“These are high-profile cases. New Yorkers know about them and you don’t?” Stefanik went on, angrily gripping her microphone and leaning into her question.
She asked Hochul about Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who sneaked back into the U.S. after being deported. While high on drugs and riding the New York subway in 2024, he found a sleeping woman and set her on fire, burning her to death while dozens of others looked on.
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The indescribably graphic video lit up social media for weeks and immediately led to a denunciation of state officials’ decision to grant Zapeta-Calil freedom after a federal civil detainer was previously lodged against him.
“I don’t have the specific details at my disposal,” Hochul said when asked if she remembered who Zapeta Calil is.
“ICE issued an order to detain this violent criminal, but that was rejected by New York officials, due to sanctuary state laws.”
“These crimes are horrific,” Hochul tried to get out before Stefanik continued on.
Toward the end of their dispute, Hochul attempted to defend her record, saying state officials are willing to cooperate with criminal detainer requests.
“In all of these cases, we would work with ICE to remove them–”
“You did not in this case!” Stefanik shouted.
“They are walking on the streets because of your policies and your executive order that you signed three times.”
“Rather than going after the viral moment, I suggest you you look at the facts–”
“I’m standing up for New Yorkers!” the Republican said, standing firm. “Rather than addressing the illegals in New York, you’re prioritizing prioritizing your far-left sanctuary policies which you put in place with your executive orders.”
