Trump border czar blasts sanctuary state laws in Albany visit

President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan made a trip to Albany on Wednesday, where he criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul for attempting to place “guardrails” on New York City Mayor Eric Adams and advocated for state-level legislation from Republicans meant to strengthen immigration enforcement. Homan was met with protests from Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocates, who called instead for the passage of new bills to expand protections for immigrants in the state.

Homan slammed the state’s sanctuary policies, particularly the Green Light Law that permits undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses while preventing federal authorities from accessing state Department of Motor Vehicle records. “When you don’t give access to important data that helps drive the criminal investigation to help them identify exactly who this person is, you're putting their life at risk,” Homan said. The U.S. Department of Justice is currently suing the state and officials including the governor over the law.

Homan continued his rhetorical assault on Hochul, who has begun using stronger language to defend migrants in the city from the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. Referencing both the alleged assault on police officers in the city by migrants last year and the burning death of a woman on the subway allegedly at the hands of an undocumented immigrant, Homan said Hochul hasn’t followed through on her public assurances that she would support the deportation of criminals. “What’s one of the first things she (does)? She’s down in New York City and tries to fire the mayor who wants to help me fight public safety threats,” Homan said. Hochul has not tried to remove the mayor, but she has sought to impose some legislative guardrails on his power.

Adams has met several times with Homan in recent months, agreeing to cooperate with the federal government on certain immigration actions, including reopening an Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Rikers Island Jail. The pair did a series of media appearances last month touting their partnership. “If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City and we won’t be sitting on the couch, I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is this agreement we came to?’” Homan said on Fox and Friends, with Adams at his side. 

But Adams is accused of a quid pro quo agreement to assist with federal immigration in exchange for the Department of Justice dropping the corruption case against him. The Justice Department’s decision to seek dismissal of the corruption charges – and to fire prosecutors who refused to do so – led to a tidal wave of calls for Hochul to use her executive authority to remove him from office, which she ultimately did not heed. But Homan rejected the idea that the discussion arose from an alleged illegal agreement. “The governor runs down there and wants to fire him because he’s working with Tom Homan?” he said. “And as far as this, all this, ‘Oh, he’s making a deal…’ I’ve been talking to him since November, (it) has nothing to do with that.”

This is Homan’s first trip to Albany since the start of the second Trump administration. Hochul was not in Albany on Wednesday, having traveled downstate for the funeral of civil rights leader Hazel Dukes. She has not had a meeting with Homan, and he has not requested one, according to Hochul’s office. Homan confirmed that he did not seek a meeting with her this time either. 

Hochul spokesperson Avi Small defended the governor’s stances on immigration but did not directly address other parts of what Homan said about her decisions around Adams. “Governor Hochul has been clear with New Yorkers: she supports secure borders and deporting violent criminals, but won't let New York help the Trump Administration tear babies away from their parents,” Small said in a statement. “This isn't the first time Trump Administration officials have lied about our policies -- and it probably won't be the last -- but Governor Hochul is staying focused on keeping New Yorkers safe.”

Homan, a New York native, received a warm welcome from Republicans, who flanked him as he spoke to reporters. “He’s a New Yorker, just as President Trump is a New Yorker,” state Senate Republican Leader Robt Ortt said before Homan took the lectern. “And I think it's a reminder, when you see the work director Homan is doing, it is a reminder of the important role New Yorkers are playing in this administration.” He added later that “the cavalry has come.”

Other conservatives said Homan’s presence was a welcome reprieve from “radical Democrats” like the governor, who uphold sanctuary policies at the state and city level. “Gov. Hochul, she's had some tough rhetoric where she said, I think, she'd be the first one to call the federal government to remove criminal legal immigrants,” said Assembly Member Jarett Gandolfo. “But Director Homan, I can't imagine your phone has been hanging off the hook from that.” 

Gandolfo sponsors legislation dubbed “Laken’s Law,” renamed after the murder of nursing student Laken Riley. A state-level version of its federal counterpart, the bill would require courts and law enforcement to notify ICE of certain arrests or convictions of non-citizens and would repeal the Protect Our Courts Act, which prohibits immigration arrests without a judicial warrant in and around state courts. Homan emphasized the need to pass that legislation.

Outside Homan’s press event in the Capitol, Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocates protested and chanted, “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.” They swarmed a smirking Homan as he exited the minority conference room, eating an apple. Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, a candidate for New York City mayor, tried to get past the state police protecting Homan while shouting at the border czar. “How many more New Yorkers will you detain? How many more New Yorkers without charge?” Mamdani yelled, in reference to Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate and pro-Palestinian activist who was recently arrested by ICE despite being a legal permanent resident. “Do you believe in the First Amendment?” Homan did not respond. He told reporters earlier that he had not seen Khalil’s arrest papers and is not privy to any charges he faces.

Following Homan’s visit, lawmakers and advocates immediately held two press conferences in the state Capitol, reaffirming their support for immigrant protections and calling for the passage of additional legislation to expand them. “I don't know if you saw Mr. Honan enjoying an apple while he was walking down the hall – an apple probably picked by an undocumented person in a farm somewhere in this state,” said state Sen. Gustavo Rivera. 

Rivera and other lawmakers want to pass the New York for All Act, which would codify and expand the state’s sanctuary policies. “If we think that this is just about undocumented immigrants, we are blind,” said Assembly Member Karines Reyes, who sponsors the measure. She added that immigrant communities around the state are terrified. “This isn't about public safety. Let's call it for what it is. This is a fascist agenda,” Reyes said.

While Republicans try to repeal the Protect Our Courts Act, Democrats recently introduced legislation that would create similar protections to prevent ICE arrests at schools amid concerns that federal officials will start making such arrests now that the Trump administration has rescinded an informal federal policy that restricted ICE arrests at “sensitive locations” like schools and places for worship. They’re also pushing to pass and fully fund the Access to Representation Act, which would establish the right to an attorney in immigration court. 

For his part, Homan issued a veiled warning for New York should it continue to flout federal immigration laws. “New York State, you gotta change the sanctuary status,” he said. “If you don’t, get out of the way. Because we’re going to do our job.”