ALBANY, NY – For some time, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has maintained that her state isn’t a ‘sanctuary state,’ asserting in public statements and past memoranda that state and local law enforcement routinely work with federal immigration authorities. Yet the data regarding ignored detainers says otherwise.
Governor Hochul has repeatedly asserted that the state of New York is not a “sanctuary state,” such as from a June 2025 memorandum where her administration called it a “false claim” to characterize the state as one and further claimed the state regularly cooperates “with ICE and CBP in many circumstances.”
Earlier in October during a gubernatorial debate, Governor Hochul again made the claim that her state is no safe haven for illegal aliens, especially ones with criminal records, saying, “I have said, from the President on down, I said New York is not a sanctuary for criminals, not a sanctuary for criminals, full stop.”
But it would seem the claims made by Governor Hochul are hollow once looking into the data regarding ignored detainers issued by ICE for illegal aliens residing in her state. As pointed out in an October op-ed by the president of the political consulting firm Common Sense Strategies, Steve Levy, thousands of federal immigration detainers were ignored in New York dating back to January of 2025.
“The latest ICE data reveals that, from January 20, 2025, to October 8, 2026, there were 16,070 detainers that were not honored by the state,” Levy highlighted in the report, adding, “There are 52,503 total criminal charges and convictions associated with the detainers that were not honored in New York.”
Among the criminal charges and convictions tied to these immigration detainers that were ignored by New York officials include 131 homicides, 132 kidnappings, 1,017 sex offenses, over 1,500 DUIs, nearly 2,200 weapons offenses, and collectively over 3,000 burglaries and robberies. When it comes to narcotics and assault charges, the combined total between the two types of offenses during the aforementioned time period was nearly 14,000.
The fact that Governor Hochul has the audacity to not only claim that New York isn’t a sanctuary city but also asserted on the debate stage that her administration is committed to ousting illegal aliens with criminal histories is beyond absurd.
It’s seemingly standard operating procedure to ignore issued immigration detainers in New York, regardless of whether the detainer pertains to a convicted criminal or overall dangerous offender.
Comments