SHAMELESS: Hochul Blasts ICE in MLK Day Speech
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul used a Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative church service in Harlem on Sunday to sharply criticize federal immigration enforcement and to laud Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, remarks that critics said crossed the line into overt politics during a religious observance, the NY Post reports.
Speaking from the pulpit at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church before a crowd of more than 1,000 congregants, Hochul reflected on the state of the nation and praised Bragg, briefly misstating his title in the process.
“I never thought I would see what is happening to our country,” the Democrat told the congregation at the church on West 138th Street.
Hochul went on to describe what she said was a climate of fear created by immigration enforcement, suggesting that some people are avoiding religious services out of concern they could be detained.
“Today, we have people struggling because they’re in fear. They are too afraid to go to church because an ICE agent may take them out of this place and take them to a detention center. Separate them from their families. That is what is happening in America today,” Gov. Hochul opined.
She then pointed to policies she highlighted in her State of the State address, asserting that certain locations should be off-limits to federal agents absent court approval.
“So I have said in my state of the state, no ICE agent can come into a sacred place like a church, or a hospital or a day care center or a school without a warrant signed by a judge,” she added. “They cannot violate this sacred space.
“We are not surrendering our rights. And we’re not going backwards, my friends! Not now. Not ever!”
Despite insisting she was not delivering a political message, Hochul also used the service to heap praise on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, even floating his future political prospects.
“We also have another fighter to keep people safe and that is our Attorney General,” Hochul said, before correcting herself.
“I’m sorry, our District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Who knows, maybe he’ll be an Attorney General some day too, change the occupant of the White House,” the anti-Trump politician said.
She continued to commend Bragg’s work with state leaders, crediting him with helping shape public safety policy in New York.
“But I’m not here to get political, you know what I’m saying. But he [Bragg’s] been a great partner in bringing ideas to us in the legislature and myself on how to make our streets safer and they are safer,” Hochul said.
“Crime is down to record lows, particularly here in Manhattan, and I give him so much of the credit.”
{Matzav.com}
