New Yorks Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, is once again elevating sanctuary-state politics over public safety by tying critical police technology funding to a pledge that local law enforcement will stand down on immigration enforcement.
According to RedState, Hochul traveled to Long Island this week to tout a $100 million package of technology grants for police agencies, but with a significant catch.
She announced that $75 million of that total would be conditioned on compliance with the states newly enacted Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, a law that effectively severs cooperation between local departments and federal immigration authorities.
The measure, passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature in May, is designed to end 287(g) agreementsvoluntary partnerships that allow sheriffs and police departments to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with identifying and detaining illegal immigrants.
By weaponizing these grants, the state is pressuring local agencies to abandon those partnerships, even as crime and border chaos remain top concerns for voters.
In practical terms, Hochul is using taxpayer dollars as leverage to discourage cooperation with ICE and to shield criminal illegal aliens from removal.
At a time when many Americans are demanding stronger border security and tougher enforcement, New Yorks governor is moving in the opposite direction, prioritizing ideological sanctuary policies over the safety of law-abiding citizens.
If youve not been a beneficiary before, please step up. You cannot imagine the difference that it will make in your community, Hochul said while promoting the grants.
Im committed to keeping this state as safe as possible, and were going to continue our support for local law enforcement because they are literally on the front lines of protecting their communities.
The state Division of Criminal Justice Services has circulated the grant application form, which spells out the strings attached to the funding.
An attestation form, which must be signed by a law enforcement official, makes clear that agencies cannot maintain 287(g) or similar agreements if they want access to the money.
No application will be considered should the applicant be determined to be operating a 287(g) agreement, or similar agreements, with the federal government, which would support state and local resources being used for civil immigration enforcement purposes, the form states.
Further, no data or information generated by technology or equipment procured with these funds shall be used for civil immigration enforcement purposes.
Critics argue that this is not about public safety at all, but about insulating illegal immigrants from federal law.
By barring the use of state-funded technology to assist ICE, Hochul is effectively ordering local police to look the other way, even when they encounter individuals who may pose a threat to their communities.
Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney of New Yorks 24th Congressional District has condemned the policy as dangerous and irresponsible.
She has warned that cutting off cooperation with ICE will only deepen New Yorks reputation as a sanctuary state that puts the interests of illegal immigrants ahead of its own citizens.
Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-24) has called the banning of local law enforcement from partnering with ICE a "reckless policy."
"This restriction ... is reckless, endangers New Yorkers, and further entrenches New York's status as a sanctuary state that prioritizes illegal immigrants over the safety of law-abiding citizens and the officers who protect them," Tenney wrote in a letter to Hochul in May.
For conservatives, Hochuls move is simply the latest example of a Democratic governor placing progressive ideology above the rule of law.
The message to criminals in the country illegally is that New York will go out of its way to shield them, while taxpayers foot the bill and shoulder the risks.
Some local leaders are refusing to bend to Albanys pressure, even if it means forfeiting state funds.
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, a Republican from upstate New York, has publicly vowed that his county will not comply with Hochuls effort to sever ties with ICE.
"Let me absolutely guarantee this low IQ and dangerous [Governor Hochul] that [Rensselaer County] will once again ignore your stupidity just as we did with (former Governor Andrew) Cuomo constantly. While you endanger New Yorkers, I will protect my residents," he said in an X post.
"We WILL continue to work with ICE, and we will continue to participate in the 287g program to protect our people."
McLaughlin told RedState that the governors scheme amounts to holding them (law enforcement) hostage.
By forcing departments to choose between vital technology upgrades and cooperation with federal law, Hochul is attempting to buy silence and complicity from those sworn to uphold the law.
Hochul is weaponizing taxpayer money to buy off local law enforcement and turn them into active participants in New Yorks sanctuary state machine.
All as a means to allow criminal illegals to roam free while American citizens in the Empire State bear the cost.
As crime concerns persist and the border crisis shows no sign of easing, New Yorkers are left to decide whether they want a state government that punishes police for working with federal partners.
You'd think voters would get tired of being sacrificed at the altar of liberal open-border ideology.
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