Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Newsmax on Thursday that the burning death of a young woman over the weekend, allegedly by a previously deported migrant, is the "direct result of the disastrous sanctuary city, sanctuary state policies that have been enacted under [New York Democrat Gov.] Kathy Hochul and the open borders under [President] Joe Biden."
"We have criminal aliens coming into this country after having already been deported, only to commit violent crimes killing Americans, and it's wrong," Lawler told "Wake Up America."
"This is not about being against immigration, I've said this many times," he said. "My wife is an immigrant, so it's not a function of 'let's be against immigration.' It's a function of being against allowing our country to be overrun by millions of migrants coming into the U.S., some of them criminals who are seeking to do harm. The fact that you had an innocent woman sleeping on a subway get burned alive right before Christmas is really unconscionable, but it's a direct result of the policies that have been enacted here in New York — allowing sanctuary for criminal aliens, refusing to cooperate with immigration and customs officials, and turning over said criminal aliens to law enforcement. It has to stop."
Lawler said he thinks New York City Mayor Eric Adams, "to his credit … gets it," while Hochul "does not."
"She literally posted right after the woman was burned about how safe the subway system is on X," he said. "I mean, it's a joke what we're dealing with here in New York."
In an exit interview with Politico, outgoing Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said that "[a]nyone who underestimates our power is severely mistaken, because we aren't going anywhere."
Lawler said it doesn't seem like the Democrats "learned too much" from their losses in the 2024 elections.
"Oftentimes, they just try to change their language or their rhetoric a little bit," he said. "Look at crime, for instance. Kathy Hochul acting as though crime is down in New York, when, in fact, it's not, as evidenced by a woman literally being burned alive on a subway train. The fact is they really haven't learned any lessons; they're just focused on trying to win elections. But the fact is the American people have had enough. They want us to focus on the issues that matter to them and their families most acutely — and that is the affordability crisis, the quality of life, and keeping our country safe and secure, period."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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