New York Gov. Kathy Hochul met with border czar Tom Homan on Friday, as Homan sought to assure the governor there were no plans for a surge of immigration agents into her state, Politico reported.
"It was an important conversation to be had, for him to hear directly from me the current concerns I have on behalf of New Yorkers," Hochul said after the meeting.
At the meeting Hochul gave Homan a list of college students who were detained that she is hoping to see released.
The governor also expressed concern about Immigration and Customs Enforcement's plan to open mass detention facilities in New York and criticized the death of a 56-year-old man, who was dropped off at a closed coffee shop by Border Patrol officers.
Hochul gave Homan a list of the man's family members in Myanmar who are seeking visas into the United States.
"The governor and Tom Homan agree that what they're both interested in is public safety, and what we saw in Buffalo was not public safety," said State Operations Director Jackie Bray, who attended the meeting.
Homan did not take questions after the meeting.
"As the Trump Administration has repeatedly stressed, we want to work with local leaders to keep their communities safe from dangerous, criminal illegal aliens," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
"The Administration, including Tom Homan, remains committed to having these conversations with anyone willing to have them. And we will continue acting on our mandate to enforce federal immigration law."
Hochul had previously met with President Donald Trump during the annual National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C., to express her concern over a possible ICE surge.
"The president said, 'We'll only go where we're wanted.' And said, for example, 'I won't go to New York unless Kathy calls and says she wants me to come to New York,'" Hochul said after meeting Trump.
The governor has expressed support for legislation that would restrict cooperation agreements between federal immigration officers and police departments and has supported making it easier for people to sue the federal government if they believe their constitutional rights have been violated.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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