Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that the Justice Department is suing the state of New York and its top officials for prioritizing “illegal aliens over American citizens.”
“As you know, we sued Illinois and New York didn’t listen. So now you’re next,” Bondi said.
Bondi, in her first news conference since being confirmed, said “millions” of people “with violent records have flooded into our communities, bringing violence and deadly drugs with them,” and that states like New York with permissive immigration policies were contributing to the problem.
Bondi announced that DOJ sued not only the state of New York but also Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and Mark Schroeder, the state’s motor vehicles commissioner. Hochul and James’ offices didn’t immediately return calls for comment.
Bondi said the lawsuit targets what she called New York’s policy of limiting law enforcement agencies from working with immigration authorities, allowing dangerous criminals to operate with impunity across state lines.
She brought to the dais an “Angel Mom,” Tammy Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter, Kayla Hamilton, was killed in 2022 by a member of the MS-13 gang in New York “who should not have been in our country.”
“Yet he was released, flown to Maryland, where he committed this violent murder,” Bondi said.
“That’s who we were letting walk into our country, and that’s why President Trump has directed this to stop,” Bondi said in her brief remarks. “And if you don’t comply with federal law, we will hold you accountable.”
Bondi did not provide many details of the specific laws that she said New York had broken but said its policies were undermining and hindering law enforcement, including from running background checks on potentially violent offenders in the country illegally.
The Justice Department last Thursday sued Illinois and Chicago, alleging their sanctuary city policies were blocking federal authorities from enforcing immigration laws.
