Political Whisperer
By Robert Hornak
When it comes to their opposition to ICE, Democrats are losing steam heading into the final months before the midterm elections. And that’s not good for Democrats, who don’t have very many wedge issues to run on.
It’s been a while since things quieted down in Minnesota. There have been no major blowups since, and ICE has operated in most cities without much incident. But Democrats continue to try to make their anti-ICE agenda a motivating factor to drive turnout this November. The protests continue, but based on the Minnesota incidents that are slowly fading in most voters’ minds.
Cue to NY Governor Kathy Hochul, running for reelection this year and while she doesn’t have a primary challenge and is well up in the polls for November, still feels a need to placate the radical left in her party to get her $268 billion budget passed, (which is now over five weeks late) and being held up on issues that include tax increases, potentially revising onerous climate laws, and, of course, “stopping” ICE.
The anti-ICE agenda includes ending 287(g) agreements to prohibit local police and county jails from entering into agreements with ICE that deputize them to act as immigration agents; restricting local law enforcement from sharing information about individuals’ immigration status with federal agents for civil, non-criminal matters; banning ICE agents from entering state or locally-owned buildings without a judicial warrant; and, banning law enforcement officers, including federal agents, from wearing masks that conceal their identities while on duty. This agenda is an excuse to create conflict where previously there has been efficient cooperation in NY. It was Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel who coined the phrase, “Never let a good crisis go to waste” and Hochul has clearly taken that to heart. She is intent of ratcheting up the controversy, trying to “fix” what has been working just fine.
Exposing her lack of understanding of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy clause Hochul claimed that federal agents shouldn’t even be in the state without an invitation from her.
As expected, Border Czar Tom Homan responded with great clarity, saying that if this anti-ICE package passes that NY will see, “more ICE agents than they have ever seen before” and asserting Federal jurisdiction adding, “I’m not asking either… we’re going to do it.”
Democrats like Hochul claim they want to deport criminal illegals. And yes this package does specifically state that they are blocking civil enforcement. But their actions expose that this is not the limit, and they play fast and loose with the numbers claiming that 70% of those taken into ICE custody do not have criminal convictions. And while technically true, almost half of that 70% have criminal charges but have not yet been convicted.
So really two-thirds of those detained are essentially criminals. And as Homan has explained, working relationships with jails and law enforcement to transfer custody of illegals arrested from local to federal authorities is the way to most peacefully and effectively target those with criminal backgrounds.
Instead, agents will increase the number of enforcement actions in local communities where they will take the target into custody, along with anyone else with them who are in the country illegally. And that is exactly what Hochul wants. The kind of aggressive enforcement that happened in Minnesota that led to the tragedies there.
Hochul has the option to be a real leader and work with federal authorities to make NY safer, or she can play politics, looking to increase tensions over an issue that Democrats see as critical to their chances of retaking the House this November. And this is why so many people are cynical about politics now.
Robert Hornak is a veteran political consultant who has previously worked for the NYC office of the Republican Assembly Leader and served as Executive Director of the Queens Republican Party. He can be reached at rahornak@gmail.com and @roberthornak on X.
