ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — On Tuesday, 22 Republican Assemblymembers signed a letter to the chair of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, sharing questions they want the committee to ask Governor Hochul when she testifies about New York’s sanctuary city policies.
“We are doing this because of the past several years, as the migrant crisis has attacked New York State, people have come in in the hundreds of thousands into New York City. They have benefitted from the policies set forth by the City of New York and of the State of New York,” said Assemblyman Michael Tannousis.
The Republicans criticized the governor for allocating $4.3 billion dollars towards helping the city handle an influx of migrants.
“Governor Hochul, using her emergency powers allocated a no-bid contract for 432 million dollars. That money needed to be spent because of the sanctuary city policy instead of going to the hardworking taxpayers of this state. No bids. No questions asked,” said Tannousis.
Among the questions they want answered is why the state didn’t change New York’s sanctuary city status. They also want Hochul to address public safety concerns, the vetting process for housing migrants, and the state’s bail reform laws. In addition, they want to know about reimbursements for Western New York Communities that also took in migrants.
When asked about the Govenor’s upcoming testimony, her office released a statement saying,
“Governor Hochul has voluntarily agreed to appear before the committee and will reiterate what she’s said dozens of times: New York cooperates with federal immigration officials to deport violent criminals, but absolutely does not support cruel actions that tear families apart or rip children away from their parents.”
The governor is scheduled to testify on June 12.
