New York, NY – This morning, New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate, Brad Lander, was detained by masked ICE agents as Lander tried to escort a man from his court appearance in an immigration court building. The Governor joined NYC elected officials at an impromptu rally to condemn the arrest. At a separate press conference, the Governor said, “Do you want to know what I really think? It’s bullshit. How dare they take an elected official who’s been going down there for weeks to escort people who are afraid to walk into a courthouse in the United States of America because, despite them having legal status, and following the rules and making their appointments, that they don’t know what’s going to happen to them?”

The press has also reported that the Governor plans to dedicate $50 million for legal assistance for immigrants who may be targeted by ICE when leaving the federal courthouse.

“This morning, one of New York City’s highest ranking elected officials was forcefully arrested by ICE on camera,” said Assemblymember Shrestha, “And despite the video footage to show otherwise, he was accused of assaulting an officer, a blatant lie. I agree with what the Governor said this morning: If something like this can happen to people in positions of power, what about everyone else? We knew Brad Lander would be released, and indeed he has been, and charges against him have been reportedly dropped, but we don’t know where the man Lander was escorting is, or what will happen to him. I thank the Governor for calling bullshit on the arrest, and for the reported announcement of allocating $50 million to provide legal assistance for those who may be targeted by ICE when they are leaving a courthouse. This is of course a welcome step toward passing Access to Representation, a bill I cosponsor that guarantees legal assistance to New Yorkers facing deportation – data shows that the chances of winning a case goes up by tenfold when there is proper representation. But we must also immediately pass New York for All so that we can stop local and state agencies from coordinating and colluding with ICE. We’ve heard reports where common traffic stops by local law enforcement have led to ICE arrests, and we know that the people who keep our economy vibrant and running are too scared to send their kids to school or go to work. We may not be able to stop Trump from doing everything he wants to do, but the state has the right and the power to limit our local resources from being used to facilitate Trump’s fascist agenda through ICE. We must act immediately.”