Hochul remains firm on immigrant protections after meeting with Trump’s border czar

A top aide in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration said the governor’s commitment to temporarily ban local police from working with federal immigration agents has not changed after a meeting with President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan on Friday. The pair met at 10:30 in the state Capitol.

Hochul initiated the conversation with Homan in Albany following the death of refugee Nurul Amin Shah Alam – a 56-year-old nearly blind Burmese man whom federal border patrol agents dropped off at a closed coffee shop in Buffalo. 

“First of all, I do not support open borders … I do not support having individuals who commit violent crimes to remain in our state,” Hochul told reporters after the meeting. “But I also believe in a pathway to citizenship and opportunities for people who are taking the legal steps to be welcomed at the door and given a legal document, or pathway to citizenship, to asylum.”

Hochul said she gave Homan a list of names of Shah Alam’s family members and asked they each be given visas – a request his widow had made to the governor. Hochul has also said the family of the late Burmese refugee should be able to sue the Trump administration in state court, which is part of her proposed immigration reforms. 

“As the Trump administration has repeatedly stressed, we want to work with local leaders to keep their communities safe from dangerous, criminal illegal aliens,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. “The administration, including Tom Homan, remains committed to having these conversations with anyone willing to have them. And we will continue acting on our mandate to enforce federal immigration law.” 

Homan did not speak with reporters on Friday.

Hochul met with Homan alongside Director of State Operations Jackie Bray, the former commissioner of the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and state Budget Director Blake Washington did not attend the meeting. 

Hochul and Bray shared few details about their roughly one-hour meeting with Homan. Bray said neither party made any promises during the discussion, but the pair gave Homan a list of names of students currently held in immigrant detention facilities they want to see released. The governor said she discussed with Homan the need for more work permits so immigrants without criminal records can work in agriculture, health care and other areas. And the governor made clear that she opposes new detention centers in New York state.

“We do not want to see any large-scale detention centers or expansion of detention centers here in the state of New York,” Hochul said. “That has created anxiety all the way from Orange County to Suffolk County to the North Country and Rochester.”

The governor had conversations with President Trump and other governors in Washington D.C. about two weeks ago regarding her deep concerns about federal immigration agents’ recent conduct. During that visit, Trump indicated he would not send additional immigration enforcement officers to New York unless Hochul asks for it. 

“I can, once again, reassure all New Yorkers that request will never occur,” said Hochul, adding that she reiterated her position to Homan on Friday. “They are not going to have a surge anywhere near what we’ve seen in other states here in the state of New York.”

The Friday meeting between Hochul and Homan comes as the governor and legislative leaders are debating stronger immigration protections, including a proposal to ban state and local police from having an agreement with federal immigration officials. They briefly discussed localities working with ICE to detain immigrants who have committed a crime in local jails.

“The governor remains committed to the three pieces of policy that we put forward, including our ban on the 287g agreements, and frankly, any other formal agreements that allow the use of local jails for civil immigration and detention,” Bray said.

Hochul doesn't want the ban to be permanent, and has proposed a law that would automatically be repealed July 1, 2029, following the end of President Donald Trump's second term. Lawmakers have been pushing Hochul to take the proposal further and permanently end all collaboration between local governments and ICE.

Homan visited Albany last year, holding an event with Republican lawmakers and Rep. Elise Stefanik – then a top contender in the gubernatorial race.