On Thursday’s edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press Now,” Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) reacted to the Department of Justice’s lawsuit over New York law tipping off individuals when immigration authorities request their data from the DMV and providing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants by stating that “the state is doing everything they should do.”
Espaillat began by saying that people who are convicted of violent crimes should be deported.
Host Peter Alexander then asked, “Congressman, the Justice Department, as you know, filed a civil lawsuit against the state of New York and several of its public officials over its policies as they relate to migrants that have come to New York state. At her first press conference since being sworn in, we heard from the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, where she attacked a New York state law that allows undocumented migrants to receive driver’s licenses and requires the DMV to inform those individuals if a federal immigration agency requests their information. So, I want your take on this civil suit from the Justice Department right now. Do you think that they have a legitimate issue with the way the state is governed, should the state be doing anything differently with Donald Trump in the White House?”
Espaillat answered, “No, I think the state is doing everything they should do. In fact, if somebody commits a violent crime, again, the federal authorities could have access to that information, but not if it’s a nonviolent offense. Again, there is a difference between a violent person, a violent felon and someone that made a minor mistake on any given day in the city or state of New York. I think those people that did a minor mistake that is nonviolent, on a given day, that any of us could do, should not be subject to deportation, particularly if you’re splitting families up. This is bad for New York and bad for the country. If you commit a violent crime, there are already laws in the books that say that you’re going to be arrested, you’re going to go to trial, and the federal authorities will be informed, and, if convicted, then you’re subject to deportation.”
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