New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called for ICE operations in New York to stop, at least temporarily, while insisting the state is “not a sanctuary for criminals.” She made the remarks Friday during an appearance on MS NOW’s “Deadline: White House.”

Hochul’s demand followed the shooting of a man by ICE. She said the investigation remained underway and called for the release of body camera footage so the public could examine what happened.

The governor said she had pressed the issue directly with the president during a conversation the previous night. She also said she delivered the same message to Secretary Mullin.

Hochul described the investigation as “ongoing, and we have insisted that the body cam footage be released to the public as soon as possible.” Her remarks placed the release of evidence at the center of her response.

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“This is exactly what I told the president last night,” Hochul said. “I also told that to Secretary Mullin.”

But Hochul did not stop with a request for footage or an investigation. She also urged federal immigration authorities to suspend operations across New York while tensions surrounding the shooting remained high.

“We insist on seeing the evidence of what exactly happened there,” she said. “I also said I want a cessation of ICE activities in New York, at least in the short term.”

Hochul said her proposed pause was intended to lower the temperature. She characterized the situation as volatile and argued that ICE operations under those circumstances could provoke further outrage.

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“Let us calm everything down,” she said. “I said, this is a tinderbox.”

Hochul says she wants to ICE operations in NY to shut down.

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The governor then described the circumstances as she viewed them, focusing on the location, the presence of children, and shots being fired near a school. She said those details had produced legitimate anger within the community.

“When you go into a neighborhood, in broad daylight, and fire shots near a school with lots of kids around, and there’s a child in a car, and you shoot into that vehicle, then there’s justified outrage from this community,” Hochul said. “And it basically is a statement that we have had enough.”

Later in the interview, Hochul turned to New York’s policies on cooperation with federal authorities. She argued that the state will assist in removing individuals accused of certain serious crimes.

“If there’s a terrorist, a murderer, a rapist, our policies say we will help you remove them,” Hochul said. Her statement drew a line between those offenders and other people who have come to New York.

Hochul said cooperation with federal agencies occurs when authorities have a court order or a warrant for an arrest. She presented that policy as established practice rather than a new response to the current dispute involving ICE.

“It is New York state’s law and policy that we’ll cooperate with federal agencies when there is a court order or a warrant for someone’s arrest,” she said. “We always have.”

“This is not new,” Hochul added. She then rejected the sanctuary state description that has been applied to New York, arguing that it misrepresents the state’s policy toward criminals.

“So, calling us a sanctuary state is a mischaracterization,” Hochul said. “It’s not a sanctuary for criminals, but we are a place for people who come to build a better life and their families and escape persecution and oppression and poverty.”

“They are welcome here,” Hochul concluded. Her comments combined a demand for ICE to halt activity in the short term with a defense of New York’s policies governing cooperation with federal agencies and its welcome for people seeking a better life.

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