Gov. Kathy Hochul took a moment Tuesday to flaunt state spending on immigrant legal services that was already announced and secured in this year’s budget after City Comptroller and mayoral hopeful Brad Lander was detained by ICE.
“(Immigrants) don’t have the attention, they don’t have the lawyers, and that’s why the state of New York is providing $50 million to cover legal services for people who are finding themselves in this situation,” Hochul trumpeted outside a Manhattan courthouse after coming to Lander’s aid.
In making the comments, however, Hochul lowballed the figure as the state budget currently includes $64.2 million, not $50 million, for immigration legal aid.
And though the governor seemed to seek praise for the legal funding enacted into the new budget, Lander and his lefty allies have been pushing state officials for a much higher dollar amount.
During a press conference last week, Lander — who was escorting migrants from court hearings when he was detained Tuesday by federal agents at ICE headquarters — called for more than $134 million in additional funding for legal services for immigrants.
The detainment of the city’s chief financial officer sparked an outpouring of support from fellow progressives and prompted Hochul to come to his defense, blasting Lander’s arrest as “bulls–t.”
She later escorted Lander out of 26 Federal Plaza when he was released about four hours later after his charges were dropped.
Lander was cuffed on allegations he assaulted law enforcement, but video of the wild encounter does not appear to back up those claims.
Hochul’s office confirmed the money she was referencing at Tuesday’s press conference was already announced and signed into law on May 9.
“There is no new allocated amount,” her office said.