Governor Kathy Hochul and the Democrat-led New York Legislature have sparked an uproar by allocating a staggering $4.3 billion in taxpayer dollars for illegal immigrant services, including a newly revealed $50 million legal defense fund earmarked for aliens fighting deportation by the Trump Administration. GOP lawmakers and angry taxpayers are crying foul, calling the expenditures “outrageous” and a betrayal of New York citizens who pay among the highest taxes in the nation.
Hochul thrust the issue back in the spotlight by appearing with New York mayoral candidate
Brad Lander, the city comptroller, who forced ICE agents to arrest him in a campaign stunt by impeding the arrest of a criminal alien. She had just returned from Washington, where she underwent blistering criticism from Rep. Elise Stefanik over her sanctuary policies and doing little to stop the wave of illegal immigrant crime sweeping across the state. “These horrific crimes are happening in your New York—a five-year-old girl raped, a woman burned alive—because of your failed sanctuary state policies,” Stefanik scolded. “You are shielding illegals.”
“When is enough, enough?” wondered Senator Dean Murray. “As if the $1.6 billion last year for illegal immigrants wasn’t enough, now they’re spending over $4 billion. New York is already the most expensive state in the nation, and this is a reason why. The taxpayers can no longer afford the Democrats.”
Murray explained that under current federal law, Medicaid and other healthcare services are not required to cover undocumented immigrants. But New York, he points out, continues to defy that law. “The federal government says we are not to use tax dollars to provide health coverage to illegal immigrants. But the Democrats say, ‘No, no, that’s not good enough.’”
With federal authorities now declining to reimburse the state, Murray warned that counties may soon be forced to absorb the costs. “Don’t be surprised if they turn around and try to make the counties pay for it. This is a mess.” Estimates suggest future Medicaid liabilities could exceed $1.2 billion, a figure Murray said would directly fall on already-strained New York taxpayers.
One resident’s furious comments, widely circulated on social media, captured the public mood:
“Just learned that our wretched governor has pledged $50 million to pay for lawyers for illegal immigrant matters. Where is she getting this money from? If this is coming from the pockets of New York taxpayers, she should be BLOCKED, IMMEDIATELY! There are plenty of citizens in this state, homeless veterans included, who need help here first. This is outrageous.”
“The Democrats are taking even more money from the hard-working citizens of New York to pay for housing, health care, education, transportation, and cell phones for the illegal immigrants they invited in,” noted Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano. “They’re doing it to tie these people to the government so they will vote for them. It’s sickening.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, previously warned that the illegal immigrant crisis “will destroy New York City,” with an expected local taxpayer burden of $12 billion over several years. Adams has blamed both Hochul and President Biden for encouraging the influx of migrants without proper planning or funding. For that, he was targeted with criminal charges by the Biden Justice Department in a case dropped by Trump.
Meanwhile, the President’s deportation plan, part of the 2024 re-election platform that propelled him back into the White House, has sparked protests and riots in multiple cities. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel are investigating who is financing the organized unrest since some of the rioters appear to be paid agitators.
Back in New York, many are questioning whether Democratic sanctuary policies and uncontrolled spending have pushed the state to a breaking point. “I wouldn’t want to be Governor Hochul heading into next year with this record,” DeStefano said. “She owns this crisis. And the citizens of New York won’t forget it.”