Republican Bruce Blakeman and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul clashed over immigration enforcement and sanctuary policies Tuesday night in the only scheduled debate before New Yorkers vote in three weeks, with the two candidates trading sharply different accounts of how federal immigration agents are operating in the state.
Hochul, who as governor has opposed letting immigration officers operate freely in New York and has overseen policies that have released criminal defendants back onto the streets rather than hand them to ICE for deportation, told debate viewers that “ICE is out of control, it’s out of control in Nassau County” — the county Blakeman currently runs as county executive. She pointed to the case of an 11-year-old boy who cried after his father was detained in an ICE raid.
Blakeman rejected that characterization. He said ICE has removed more than 2,000 illegal migrants with criminal convictions from Nassau County and argued the enforcement has made local streets safer, noting there has been no unrest or violence and no incidents at schools, hospitals or churches during ICE operations there. He said cooperation between local government and federal immigration authorities improves public safety rather than undermining it.
Blakeman also tied a recent shooting in the Bronx — in which an illegal migrant gang member was grazed in the neck while trying to run over officers with his car — directly to Hochul’s sanctuary state policies, arguing the incident would not have happened if the state had not shielded illegal migrant criminals from ICE detainers.
He turned to his own emotional appeal, citing two women murdered in Nassau County by an illegal migrant and asking Hochul directly, “What do you say to their families?”
Blakeman separately criticized Hochul for spending billions of dollars on services for migrants during her tenure.
Jewish voters shifting
The debate comes as polling shows Hochul losing ground with New York’s Jewish voters. A recent Siena Poll found only 56 percent of Jewish voters said they intended to reelect her. CNN has reported that Jewish voters are leaning Republican at record rates this cycle, with the Democratic advantage among Jewish voters down to 13 points — compared with a 40-point advantage in 2018 and 49 points in 2022.
Tuesday’s debate was the only one scheduled between the two candidates ahead of Election Day.
