Governor Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) announced Tuesday that the state of New York will provide $50 million in taxpayer dollars to pay legal fees for illegal immigrants to help them fight back against the Trump administration’s popular deportation efforts.
The governor highlighted the state’s “investment” during a dramatic news conference addressing the arrest of New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander, who was busted by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents earlier Tuesday for allegedly assaulting a federal officer.
Hochul said she believed the charges against Lander had been dropped, but added that she was still concerned about illegal aliens being “taken away from their families” in New York.
“They don’t have the attention, they don’t have the lawyers and that’s why the State of New York is providing 50 million dollars to cover legal services for people who are finding themselves in this situation,” Hochul said. We continue to do what we can to support the communities and the immigration coalitions and thank them for their work they’re doing at this time.”
Video footage of Lander’s arrest shows him tussling with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they escorted a defendant out of immigration court and repeatedly asking officials if they had a judicial warrant.
“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant!” Lander said in the video. “Where is it?! Where is the warrant?!”
A few hours later, Lander walked out of the federal courthouse where he was being detained with Hochul at his side.
Democrats and their allies in the media have been hyping recent run-ins between liberal activist politicians and law enforcement in an apparent effort to portray themselves as victims of a purported “oppressive” and “authoritarian” government under President Trump.
Lander’s arrest comes a week after Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) was hit with federal charges for allegedly interfering with federal officers during a scuffle outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, last month. Charges were dropped against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for federal trespassing at the facility.
And last Thursday, Secret Service had to forcibly remove Democrat Senator Alex Padilla of California from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles when he lunged toward the podium shouting questions.
Padilla tearfully recounted how he was thrown out of Noem’s press conference in an “emotional” speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
“What will a city already ON EDGE from being militarized THNK when they see their United States senator being HANDCUFFED just for trying to ask a question!” he wailed.
Authorities on Tuesday defended Lander’s arrest, pointing out that in recent months, there has been a substantial increase in assaults against ICE officers.
“Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413 percent increase in assaults against them—it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment,” a DHS spokesperson said. “No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”
“The safety and security of official proceedings, government officials, law enforcement officers, and all members of the public who participate in them is a core focus of our Office,” said Nick Biase, chief of public affairs for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The Department of Justice will prosecute violations of federal law.”
Governor Hochul, however, said during her presser that the arrest of Lander constituted “a sorry day for New York and our country.”
“The video is shocking, she said. “I knew I needed to come down here immediately and check on his whereabouts, and do what I could to intervene.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a potential rival of Hochul in the 2026 N.Y. governor’s race, blasted the $50 million boondoggle on social media.
“$50 MILLION of NYers hard earned taxpayer dollars are being used for illegals migrants legal fees because of Kathy Hochul’s illegals first, New Yorkers LAST failed leadership in NY,” Stefanik wrote on X. “VOTE HER OUT.”
Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans support the Trump administration’s deportation policies.