Congress

Vulnerable New York Democrats sidestep Hochul’s anti-ICE measures

Published

8 months ago

January 17, 2026

ALBANY, New York — Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposals to rein in President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics are putting swing seat Democrats in a tight spot.

Republicans are eager to capitalize on state-level efforts to undermine deportations as a cudgel against vulnerable House Democrats — especially those representing the bellwether New York suburbs. Left-leaning Democrats — responding to eroding support for Trump’s immigration policies after the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis — are increasingly willing to take a confrontational approach with federal law enforcement.

The rapidly shifting events driving public opinion, Trump’s escalating deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and Democrats’ desire to protect undocumented communities has created treacherous political crosscurrents for swing seat lawmakers. And the Empire State — home to large immigrant populations and several contested House districts that may determine control of the chamber — is a case in point.

“They’re going to have to be really careful how they talk about this,” Laura Curran, a Democrat and former Nassau County executive, said of her party’s swing seat candidates. “We don’t want to talk about defunding the police or all that stuff.”

Proposals by Hochul and the Democratic-dominated state Legislature to put guardrails around Trump’s immigration tactics have not been enthusiastically received by vulnerable House Democrats.

Reps. Tom Suozzi and Josh Riley would not comment on the governor’s policy pushback, which she outlined in her State of the State speech this week. And a third Democrat, Rep. Laura Gillen, provided a statement calling for federal immigration reform that avoided any mention of Hochul’s proposals.

Efforts in Albany to check ICE’s actions are quickly becoming an issue in the three Democrats’ races as Trump moves to deport more undocumented immigrants and potentially use the Insurrection Act to quell adversarial protests. Republicans plan to mount competitive campaigns against Suozzi, Riley and Gillen this year with the goal of making in-roads among voters in purplish areas of New York state. Attacks over the governor’s immigration measures are already starting: A spokesperson for the House Republicans’ campaign arm accused Hochul and her fellow Democrats of trying to “reopen the illegal immigration floodgates.”

“New Yorkers haven’t forgotten what Democrats’ reckless open borders did to their state, and they won’t stand for it again,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Maureen O’Toole.

The stakes for New York Democrats to get the immigration policy right couldn’t be higher. Races in at least four seats in this deep blue state are expected to determine control of the House — and the course of Trump’s final two years in office.

Republicans in the past have pointed to state-level laws in Democratic-dominated Albany to blast Democrats running for federal office. GOP candidates hammered Democrats, regardless of what office they were running for, over a controversial law that restricted cash bail.

State-backed provisions that undermine federal law enforcement stand to serve as a replay of a fight that played out in several election cycles and led to electoral gains for Republicans.

Gillen’s office sidestepped questions about the Hochul-backed measures and instead called for action on the federal level.

“Our immigration system has been broken for decades and is in dire need of repair,” she said in a statement. “Comprehensive reform must be done at the federal level. Congress should pass my bipartisan Dignity Act to strengthen our border security, remove dangerous criminals, and provide a pathway for law-abiding immigrants to earn legal status.”

Curran, who led bellwether Nassau County for four years, believes Democrats in swing seats will have to remain cautious with calls to scale back ICE. But she acknowledged some voters want action following Good’s death and Trump’s threat of invoking the Insurrection Act amid ICE’s clashes with protesters. The fraught emotions have created a tricky balancing act for Democrats in tough races.

“The dramatic nature of all this ICE action is really starting to freak people out,” Curran said. “The popularity of Republicans is starting to go down if this escalates. This is going to become much more toxic, but I also understand why some of these Congressional Democrats are being vanilla. I understand these districts; they have to be.”

The lack of support for Hochul’s ICE-curbing plans among the trio of vulnerable New York Democrats underscores how Trump’s increasingly controversial deportation efforts continue to be a third rail for the party. Democrats have struggled to articulate an alternative plan and voters punished their candidates in 2024 as the president returned to the White House promising swift action.

But the expansive efforts to remove people from the country have changed how the party’s officials — especially at the state level — are approaching the issue.

Democrats in Albany this year want new boundaries around federal immigration officers — provisions that would apply to a state with a civically engaged immigrant population. Hochul wants to make it easier for New Yorkers to sue federal officials in state court and to require a judicial warrant before carrying out a civil deportation proceedings in locations like schools or houses of worship. Hochul will also implement restrictions on new state-funded public safety grants to require they not be used to support civil immigration enforcement by the federal government.

The moderate Democrat in interviews has hammered ICE’s recent actions around the country, accusing the agency of abusing its power.

“It hurts peoples’ confidence in all law enforcement,” she told Fox 5. “This undermines the NYPD, and our state police, who are just doing their jobs.”

State lawmakers have proposed bills to prohibit federal agents from wearing masks while carrying out their official duties. They are calling for new monitoring requirements for ICE. And there are discussions to guarantee that every person facing civil deportation proceedings has access to an attorney.

“There’s a massive shift — including my own shift,” said Democratic state Sen. Pat Fahy. “Public opinion has shifted dramatically.”

The Albany-area Democrat has worked with state lawmakers across the country in recent weeks to develop new legislation. Spurred by efforts in California — like requiring ICE agents be unmasked — Fahy and her fellow legislators have been on group chats trading ideas for new ways of bottling up federal enforcement efforts. She acknowledged, though, that some moderate Democrats are yet to come around amid uncertainty over how the rapidly changing events will shape the public’s view of the deportation crackdown.

“The marginal Democrats or the swing area Democrats are still nervous about it,” she said. “But now it’s more than an immigration issue. This is about who we are as Americans.”

Even among Democrats eager to put the brakes to ICE’s enforcement there are disagreements.

Hochul is typically cautious around controversial immigration issues — she is not embracing calls to expand sanctuary protections and said in a Fox 5 interview this week she does not want the agency abolished. But the governor received standing ovations from the audience when she laid out her immigration measures in her State of the State address — a speech given days after Good’s shooting in Minneapolis and an indication she is delicately threading a needle with her proposals.

“This doesn’t interfere with lawful enforcement or public safety,” Hochul said in the speech. “It simply affirms a core truth: Power does not justify abuse.”

There are signs voters across the country are becoming unnerved by immigration agents’ expansive tactics and deployments. A Quinnipiac University poll this week found 57 percent of voters disapproved of how ICE is enforcing immigration laws while 53 percent of those surveyed believe Good’s shooting was not justified.

Hochul has said she was “sickened” by Good’s death and called for “recourse” when a federal official acts inappropriately.

“Let’s start holding these people accountable,” she told MSNOW this month.

Her likely Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, has taken a starkly different posture.

Blakeman — who signed an executive order opposing sanctuary-related policies — told reporters this week he does not want to “put any shackles on ICE.” He said videos of Good appeared to show her turning her car toward an ICE agent and “trying to run down” the officer — a claim Hochul’s campaign rebuked. The Republican added that there should be more support for victims of crimes by undocumented immigrants.

“You want to talk about ICE? Let’s talk about the victims of crimes committed in New York state by the people who shouldn’t be here,” said Blakeman, who Republicans expect will have strong coattails in down-ballot Long Island races.

The differing views among Democrats over how to address Trump’s immigration actions highlights Hochul’s imperative to win over statewide voters, while swing seat incumbents must take a more careful approach, said independent political analyst J.C. Polanco.

“Hochul understands she’s never going to win a Blakeman voter,” he said. “Unfortunately for Gillen and Suozzi, they need Blakeman voters.”

Congress

Ohio stations ignore Max Miller’s legal threat, run Democratic challenger’s ad

Published

1 hour ago

September 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Ohio television stations are so far choosing to ignore a legal threat from GOP Rep. Max Miller and broadcast an ad from his Democratic challenger centered on the allegations of domestic abuse Miller faces from his ex-wife.

A lawyer for Miller demanded that Cleveland-area television station WKYC not publish “false, malicious, and defamatory statements” in a Thursday cease-and-desist letter first reported by Blue Light News.

WKYC ran the ad Tuesday morning, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact, as did two other Cleveland stations, WEWS and WOIO.

The 30-second ad from the Poindexter campaign and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee depicts a local sheriff listing the accusations levied against Miller levied by Emily Moreno, his ex-wife and the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). Miller has repeatedly denied the abuse allegations.

“The ad mentioned is filled with lies,” Miller spokesperson Abigail Angelos said in a statement. “Each of the statements in the advertisement are entirely unsubstantiated and contradicted by evidence.”

Representatives for the three TV stations did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Poindexter responded to the legal threat by tearing up the cease-and-desist letter in a campaign video.

Before the ad, Poindexter had focused his campaign on his working-class background and cost-of-living issues. Now the campaign has gotten intensely personal: The Democrat is on air publicizing Miller’s family dispute, while Miller’s campaign is lobbing accusations about Poindexter’s past run-ins with law enforcement in an ad paid for by the NRCC.

NRCC spokesperson Zach Bannon said in a statement that Poindexter is “completely out of touch with Northeast Ohio” and is a “life-long criminal” who is “fully embracing the radical far-left socialist agenda.”

Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.

Congress

GOP Senator wants to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. over Russian-funded wedding

Published

4 hours ago

September 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A Senate Republican from Utah is asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. following reports that the president’s son had parts of his wedding paid for by a Russian oligarch with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Sen. John Curtis’ request, which comes following a news story by ProPublica, marks a significant break with President Donald Trump from a member of his own party.

“Questions have arisen about the relationships of President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., with foreign business figures and the acceptance of significant gifts. These include a lavish wedding afterparty, on a private island, provided by Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, who reportedly traveled to China as part of a delegation accompanying Vladimir Putin shortly before giving the gift,” Curtis wrote in a letter dated Sept. 21 to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.

“These concerns are compounded by Donald Trump Jr.’s active promotion of family-backed cryptocurrency ventures, his continued pursuit of international real estate deals involving direct meetings with foreign heads of state, and his reported investments in defense contracting,” Curtis added.

Curtis, also noting the profits the Trump family has made through cryptocurrency deals, indicated this incident is part of a broader pattern where the relatives of U.S. presidents can improperly leverage their proximity to power.

In addition to probing Trump Jr., Curtis asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who over the years found himself enveloped in numerous self-dealing scandals. Both men, he said, should testify “regarding their past business dealings, relationships with foreign individuals and entities, gifts, or other benefits they have received, and any instances in which their relationship to the President was invoked or understood to provide value.”

“The country should not have to accept one standard for the family of a Republican president and another for the family of a Democratic president. Nor should congressional oversight begin and end when control of the White House changes hands,” Curtis said.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday, but it’s unlikely that Trump, who demands loyalty from the GOP, will consider the bipartisan nature of Curtis’ request to be anything other than a personal affront.

Trump said in a statement he has “no idea who Umar is” and that he has “never heard of him, and he didn’t pay for Don and Bettina’s wedding, which took place at a totally different location, and on a different day from the wedding.”

Kremlev is president of the International Boxing Association and received an Order of Friendship medal from Putin for his “contribution to international sport and his commitment to the global boxing family.” He’s also been sanctioned by the Ukrainian government for his ties to Putin.

A spokesperson for Judiciary Committee Republicans confirmed Grassley was in receipt of the letter but could not commit to investigating the matter. The spokesperson noted that hearing dates are extremely limited through the end of 2026 and investigative hearings usually take months of background work before they can be scheduled.

It’s sure to be an issue Democrats pursue if they win the majority in either chamber next year. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote to the White House and Donald Trump Jr. last week demanding information about the president’s son’s ties to Kremlev.

Cheyanne M. Daniels contributed to this report.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Senate GOP eyes exit plan as trail calls

Published

5 hours ago

September 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senators dreaming of the smell of jet fumes might get their wish.

The chamber, initially scheduled to be in session until the beginning of October, is instead eyeing departure by the end of the week. To get there, though, Republicans will need to strike a time agreement with Democrats to fast-track the remainder of their work.

And while GOP members are antsy to spend more time in their states campaigning ahead of the midterms, some in their ranks are also uncomfortable that their final agenda items aren’t doing more to address issues voters increasingly care about — like the cost of living, data centers or AI safety.

For now, senators’ agenda includes: a sweeping college athletics bill, an Iran war powers resolution, a handful of nominees — including for labor secretary — and potential votes to roll back California’s stricter standards for vehicle emissions.

So far Democrats haven’t tipped their hand on whether they will agree to speed up consideration of the college sports legislation. Without a deal, the bill will drag into at least Friday evening, but Democrats first want details about the entire pre-recess agenda, according to two people granted anonymity to disclose private deliberations.

Whether the Senate will get around to doing something — anything — to address public alarm about the growing capabilities of artificial intelligence or pass permitting reform legislation remains to be seen.

Discussions are ongoing about whether the chamber will take a vote on Sen. Jon Husted’s so-called Ratepayer Protection Act, which aims to curb the energy costs associated with data centers.

Negotiators dragged past what was viewed as an unofficial deadline (over the weekend) to reach a deal to streamline energy permitting before the midterms.

Also to potentially get the boot if senators leave this week: a planned Senate Judiciary hearing next week with former special counsel Jack Smith.

Chair Chuck Grassley, asked last week, said “we gotta go ahead with that” hearing but added that he hasn’t grappled with an early dismissal: “Gosh, I haven’t thought about that.”

An aide of his chimed in saying the committee is “working on options” but that “it’s hard with the uncertainty” of the schedule.

What else we’re watching:

— SOARING DIESEL COSTS EXPOSE GOP SPLITS: Several farm state Republicans this week have all but begged President Donald Trump to do something to lower record-high diesel prices fueled by the Iran war, even if it means crossing their traditional allies in the oil and gas sector. The cacophony of outcry puts pressure on GOP leaders and exposes divisions among Republicans as members grapple with an unpopular war led by the president. Grassley posted over the weekend that high diesel prices are “KILLING FARMERS INCOME” and urged Trump to “put an embargo on diesel exports like presidents in the 70s put embargoes on ag products bc food prices were inflated.” Michigan’s GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers on Monday also threw his support behind a “temporary embargo” on diesel exports and called for an end to the Iran war, as did Iowa Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson in a Monday morning post. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks also called for diesel price relief.

— JEFFRIES SNAPS BACK AT GOLDEN: Hakeem Jeffries slammed exiting Rep. Jared Golden’s endorsement of a battleground Republican Monday, showcasing a rare display of frustration by the minority leader against a member who’s bucked his party multiple times this month. Jeffries and Democratic leaders were already weighing potential punishment for Golden after he twice in recent weeks was a key vote unfreezing Republicans’ floor agendas. On Monday, Golden twisted the proverbial knife by endorsing Rep. Mike Lawler in a district Democrats are spending millions of dollars in in an effort to flip. “Mike Lawler is an unadulterated phony who has never shown bipartisan courage when it matters,” Jeffries wrote in a statement that didn’t mention Golden by name. “In desperation, he is peddling an 11th hour endorsement from a retiring Congressmember who represents an out of town district more than 400 miles away.”

Jordain Carney, James Bikales, Rachel Shin and Riley Rogerson contributed to this report.