Trump immigration czar pledges punishment if NY lawmakers limit cooperation with ICE
New York Public News Network | By Jimmy Vielkind
Published May 6, 2026 at 8:42 AM EDT
Republicans are firing warning shots at Gov. Kathy Hochul and other Democratic state lawmakers: If you pass new laws to protect immigrants across New York, there will be consequences.
Tom Homan, an upstate New York native who serves as President Donald Trump’s border czar, said he would respond to any new law by sending more U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the Empire State.
“We're going to flood the zone. You're going to see more ICE agents than you've ever seen before,” Homan said Tuesday at a border security conference in Phoenix, seen in a video posted to social media by a Newsmax reporter and widely cited in media reports Tuesday. “So congratulations, because when we send these teams out there, we'll find a bad guy. Most times we do. And when we find a bad guy, he's with others, others who may not be a priority target, but they're in the country illegally.”
Hochul said Tuesday that lawmakers were “almost done” with a $263 billion state budget that lawmakers say will include new protections for immigrants.
https://www.wshu.org/2026-05-05/trump-immigration-czar-pledges-punishment-if-ny-lawmakers-limit-cooperation-with-ice