While meeting with White House border czar Tom Homan on Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) made her case that New York should have “no more” immigration raids or large-scale detention centers.
“Help us keep New Yorkers safe by ending aggressive and unlawful ICE operations in this state,” she said in a “straightforward appeal” to Homan. “No more militarized raids, no more plans for large-scale detention centers, and no more attacks on law-abiding people who call New York home.”
The meeting followed Hochul’s recent visit to the White House, where President Donald Trump said he would only push for a major immigration operation in states that want one.
The assurance came after the Trump administration began pulling immigration officers from Minnesota after two U.S. citizens were killed by such officers in shootings. That decision resulted from Homan’s diplomatic meetings with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and Mayor Jacob Frey (D-MN).
Hochul doesn’t want to see a similar operation in her state, and it appears her demand will be met.
“President Trump promised he would not engage in a federal immigration enforcement surge in New York unless we ask for it,” the governor said, “and I made clear to Homan today that the request would never come.”
During the meeting, she raised concerns about an incident in Buffalo involving a nearly blind, non-English-speaking refugee from Myanmar who was left alone at a coffee shop by Border Patrol agents. He was found dead five days later during a cold winter snap in New York.
At a press conference, Hochul said she gave Homan a list of names of the refugee’s family members in Myanmar so that they can be provided visas to mourn their loss together. Hochul said that was the widow’s request.
A list of detained foreign students was also provided to Homan for their eventual release.
Trump agreed to release a detained Columbia University student at the request of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who personally visited the White House on business last week.
“We do not want to see any large-scale detention centers or expansions of detention centers here in the State of New York,” Hochul said. “That has created anxiety all the way from Orange County to Suffolk County, to the North Country and Rochester.”
Plans for detention centers are underway in several states as the Trump administration seeks to convert warehouses into immigration facilities, but the concept is facing fierce opposition from New York and other states.
For instance, Maryland filed a lawsuit against the administration to halt its remodeling of a vacant warehouse into a detention center. And in New Hampshire, the federal government backed away from its plan to build an immigration facility.
In New York, a large proposed facility could house up to 1,500 detainees if it’s built. Local officials have said the federal government isn’t moving forward with the proposal at this time.
Meanwhile, Hochul says New York will cooperate with federal immigration enforcement to target “dangerous criminals.” However, she argues it needs to be done in line with the Constitution.
A WELCOME CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP AT DHS
“That’s why I’ve proposed legislation that would keep ICE out of sensitive locations like schools, healthcare facilities, and houses of worship, and protects the constitutional rights afforded to everyone in our state,” she said.
The bill, included in the governor’s state budget proposal, is currently before the New York legislature for consideration.
