Statement From Governor Kathy Hochul

“Last week, a mother went to 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan for a routine immigration check-in with her adult son and 7-year-old daughter. ICE agents detained all three of them on the spot. I have been clear: whether under President Biden or Donald Trump, I will work with the federal government to secure our borders and deport violent criminals who pose a real threat. But ripping a mother from her children and detaining her 7-year-old daughter is cruel and unjust. It does not make anyone in New York or across the country safer. Instead of preparing her daughter for school, this mother and her daughter have been separated from their family and sent to a facility in Texas. My Administration has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security demanding their immediate return to New York.

“This is not the first cruel and unjust act at 26 Federal Plaza, and I join New Yorkers in demanding better conditions at this detention center. The Department of Homeland Security must open the doors to New York’s congressional members so they can conduct oversight and ensure the welfare of everyone inside. President Trump promised only to target the ‘worst of the worst,’ but ICE continues to target families, students and those contributing to society. With less than half of immigration arrests by ICE involving someone with a conviction or criminal history, it is long past time they focus on removing violent criminals, as they promised — and stop terrorizing children.

“If a 7-year-old is who President Trump considers the ‘worst of the worst,’ then the promise was a lie from the start.”