During an interview with radical far-left pundit David Pakman, New York Governor Kathy Hochul promised to obstruct President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda by preventing New York State police from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After a video of her rant surfaced on X, conservatives responded by demanding the Democratic governor’s arrest, citing laws that prohibit state officials from defying federal mandates.
For context, Governor Hochul’s statements are in line with the deep blue state’s longstanding sanctuary policies, which include a 2017 executive order banning state collaboration with ICE and a 2020 mandate blocking immigration arrests in sensitive locations. Her radical policies and disdain for the law have put her in conflict with President Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan, who are focused on ending the immigration crisis.
Such was shown in her March 23, 2025, interview, in which the New York governor promised to defy the president. She stated, “We’re not going to allow this mass deportation, where, where we will cooperate. And I did this even under the Biden administration. If you have a warrant, or you know someone’s on a terrorism watch list or committing crimes in their home country or committing crimes here, that’s a different category.”
Pulling back on her radical proclamation, she carved out a few exceptions. Hochul said, “I will help you with those to protect everyone, whether the newly arriving New Yorkers or where they’ve lived here their entire lives. So that’s really clear to me, but don’t bleed over into going to schools and sensitive places.”
Attacking the few sane counties in her state, Kathy Hochul went after so-called “renegades.” She said, “So our state policy, our state law, does not allow for our state police to be involved in those situations. Now what we have are some renegade counties in New York because individual counties can sign a pact with ICE, and we have a lot of them, some on Long Island, some in upstate New York, where there’s different political views.”
Wrapping up her rant, Hochul reiterated that she would allow the state police, which is controlled by the governor’s office, to aid ICE. She said, “They are cooperating with their local police departments, but what I control is the state police, and they will not cooperate in that.”
Watch the clip here:
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In the comments under a video of the interview, users were incensed by Hochul’s flagrant disregard for the law. One of the replies said, “Trump needs to start taking action against all blue states that are obstructing the law. By doing so, they are aiding & abetting criminals. This cannot go on.” Echoing that point, another comment read, “Hochul and every other politician breaking Federal Law need to be arrested. This shit has gone on too long. There have to [be] repercussions for these crimes against American citizens.”
Other comments joked about the opportunity the woke governor had created for Trump. One reply read, “Thanks for the update, Gov! And… Cue the @ICEgov! Now that your cronies will stay out of their way, they can get to work. A warning, however: interfere with them, and we will be forced to send in the @RealTomHoma. You have been advised of your rights. Please act accordingly!”
Featured image from embedded video