Democrats have begun to morph their stance on illegal aliens from protecting them all to agreeing that “criminals” should be deported as Donald Trump prepares to reenter the White House.
The shifts by Democrat Governors — including Kathy Hochul, J.B. Pritzker, and Jared Polis — and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is a political admission that Donald Trump’s campaign has been right that America needs to begin deporting these criminals.
So since Donald Trump’s landslide election win in November, various Democrats have begun to transform their stance on illegal aliens from a position of protecting them all regardless of status to one agreeing that “criminals” should be deported.
This is an effort to reposition themselves so as to appear “tough” on crime after four years of being so permissive that their jurisdictions have devolved into a state of war between the citizens on one hand and the criminal element among illegal aliens on the other. This is no less than an admission the Donald Trump’s campaign has been right all along that America needs to begin deporting these criminals and that voters support this policy.
New York Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul is the latest to make this abrupt, whiplash-inducing U-turn on deportations. After spending years defending her blanket “sanctuary state” policies, Hochul is all of a sudden telling New Yorkers that she will be “the first to call ICE” if an illegal migrant is caught breaking the law.
Hochul made her comments in late November during a press conference about retail theft and the state’s new efforts to curb the crime wave, the National News Desk (TNND) reported.
“That’s separate from people who are criminals. If someone breaks the law, I’ll be the first one to call up ICE and say, ‘Get them out of here,'” Hochul boldly proclaimed during the presser when speaking of deportation.
She added that there is a “difference in categories of individuals,” and insisted she still wants to help other “categories” of migrants to get jobs in the Empire State. But she reiterated that she now does not want criminal illegals in her state.
“There are other people who commit crimes or are known to be criminals before they arrived here – when those are identified, I’ll be the first one to help get rid of ‘em. I don’t want them here. I don’t want anybody terrorizing my citizens,” she said.
Her comments drew criticism from likely GOP challenger Mike Lawler. In a message on X, Lawler blasted Hochul as being insincere.
“If Governor Hochul actually meant what she said, Laken Riley would still be alive today,” he wrote. “The truth is she doesn’t, and she even helped usher in NY’s sanctuary state status. This shameless effort to hide from her record won’t be forgotten by New Yorkers.”
If Governor Hochul actually meant what she said, Laken Riley would still be alive today.
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) November 26, 2024
The truth is she doesn’t, and she even helped usher in NY’s sanctuary state status.
This shameless effort to hide from her record won’t be forgotten by New Yorkers. https://t.co/Wn0ySjqjTM
Hochul’s sudden shift came as it has been reported that New York City is now home to 58,000 “criminal” migrants — including more than 1,000 members of foreign gangs such as Tren de Aragua, according to a recent report in the New York Post.
Hochul is not the only sanctuary-pushing Democrat to suddenly morph toward supporting the deportation of criminal illegals.
Radically left-wing Denver Mayor Mike Johnston also veered toward the “deport criminals” position after stepping on a beehive when he initially said he would use the Denver Police Department as his shock troops to physically prevent ICE from deporting illegals.
After backtracking and insisting that he “probably wouldn’t have used that image” and would “take back” some of what he said, he also hastened to add that he does support deporting criminal illegals.
“I think our line is clear,” Johnston said, though what followed was a stark contrast to what he has been saying for the last several years:
We think if you are a violent criminal that is committing serious crimes like murder or rape in Denver, you should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and you should be deported. We support that, we have always supported that, we’ll continue supporting that. We’ve worked with previous administrations on that; we will do it going forward.
Far-left Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker also recently tried to put a finer point on his opposition to deportation when late last month he insisted that “violent criminals” should be deported, but all other illegals should be protected.
On Oct. 27, Pritzker insisted he was for deportation in some form, saying, “They should be imprisoned and, or if they’re illegal, undocumented in this country and they are committing violent crimes they should be deported and turned over to authorities in their countries.”
Colorado Democrat Gov. Jared Polis has also modified his stance on the issue.
“We appreciate any federal assistance in apprehending and deporting people who have committed crimes and are a danger to Colorado, our fellow Coloradans,” Polis said. He added: “If there’s any additional federal assistance in combating Venezuelan gangs and quickly incarcerating or detaining or deporting people who commit crimes like robberies, we’re excited to have that help.”
The addition of this previously unvoiced “nuance” concerning deportation indicates these far-left Democrats are finally seeing that their radical, blanket support for illegal immigration is grating on voters — and has turned their states and cities into magnets for illegal migrants which invited the wave of crime washing over them all.
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