Former Democratic representative Tom Suozzi, who is running for his old Long Island seat most recently held by indicted and expelled GOP representative George Santos, told voters during a recent campaign stop he doesn’t know what a sanctuary city is, according to a video of his remarks obtained by National Review.
The clip comes as welcome news to Republicans, who are hoping that voter backlash to crime and New York City’s migrant crisis will help them hold on to the red-trending district that voted to elect President Joe Biden in 2020. Suozzi is facing Republican Nassau County legislator and former Israel Defense Forces soldier Mazi Melesa Pilip in a February 13 special election.
“Sanctuary cities is such a misnomer, okay, what does that mean?” Suozzi says in his remarks, which reportedly took place during a January 17 membership meeting of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce, a source tells NR. “Can you tell me what it means? Can anyone here tell me what that means? No, but it’s this thing that is thrown out there. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s such a misused terminology”:
The latest remarks from Suozzi are especially notable given his own left-leaning record on immigration while serving in local government and in Congress.
In June 2018, Suozzi posted a graphic on social media bragging that while serving as Nassau County Executive, “The police department issued an administrative order stating that it is not police policy to inquire about the immigration status of any person unless they are arrested for a crime.”
Republicans working to elect Pilip in the red-trending Long Island district have run ads highlighting comments Suozzi made during a 2022 gubernatorial debate about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in which the former congressman said while serving as Nassau County Executive, “I kicked ICE from Nassau County.” Another ad hits Suozzi for his congressional record, when he “opposed penalizing sanctuary cities,” and “voted against notifying authorities when an illegal immigrant attempted to purchase a firearm.”