NEW YORK \u2014 One of the most vulnerable Republicans in the House is running on immigration \u2014 and taking on both parties over it.<\/p>\n

Rep. Mike Lawler is hammering Democrats over \u201csanctuary\u201d policies while criticizing the Trump administration\u2019s aggressive \u2014 and at times lethal \u2014 immigration enforcement tactics.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenee Good and Alex Pretti should not be dead. But neither should Sheridan Gorman, and neither should Laken Riley, and neither should the thousands of people who have been murdered by people who are in our country illegally and committing crimes,\u201d Lawler said at a candidate forum earlier this month. \u201cSo yes, ICE needs reforms, but you know what? Sanctuary jurisdictions should not exist. Criminals should be deported.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawler is betting his self-described \u201ccommon sense\u201d approach can win him a third term in a suburban Hudson Valley district Kamala Harris carried in 2024. His race against Democrat Cait Conley, an Army veteran and first-time candidate, could help determine control of the House.<\/p>\n

Immigration has helped Republicans win elections, but broad dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump\u2019s policies has made it a less certain advantage this year. Lawler is pressing it anyway.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s run paid media<\/a> on the topic<\/a> and held multiple events decrying Democrats\u2019 immigration policies. In a recent interview with a panel of local reporters, he even brought it up himself<\/a>: \u201cWe did not touch on immigration, and I want to raise this because this is a real problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFundamentally, when you look at the challenge, I think most people want common sense, not extremism, on the issue of immigration,\u201d Lawler told reporters after a debate with Conley earlier this week.<\/p>\n

Whether that emphasis matches voters\u2019 priorities is another question. A recent Emerson College poll<\/a> found immigration ranked far behind the economy and threats to democracy among the district\u2019s most important issues. And Trump, whose approval ratings are abysmal in New York state, is often at the center of the immigration debate.<\/p>\n

Lawler has been able to criticize Trump without drawing the backlash other Republicans have faced. He repeatedly highlights his fight with the president to raise the cap for the state and local tax deduction, which Trump ended up praising him for<\/a> at a rally earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Other Republicans who\u2019ve sought to create distance with the president haven\u2019t fared nearly as well. Rep. Mar\u00eda Elvira Salazar is just one. Trump eviscerated the Florida Republican<\/a> after she released a campaign ad<\/a> challenging his immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n

Yet even Lawler\u2019s leverage with Trump has limits.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s highlighted his support for extending Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haitians, thousands of whom live in his district. When the Trump administration announced it would be ending those protections for Haitians earlier this year, Lawler made his opposition known, warning it was not safe to send people back to the country.<\/p>\n

He said he\u2019s been working on individual cases to support Haitians in his district. Jean Bernard Charles, who lives in Rockland County, told Blue Light News that Lawler\u2019s office was helpful in getting his wife to the country and he recommended his friends facing the same situation to go to the office for help.<\/p>\n

Lawler also cosponsored legislation to extend TPS, which is stalled in the Senate. He argued that he\u2019s fulfilled his role<\/a> by passing a bill through the House and has blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for not moving it along. (In response, Schumer’s office said in a statement that the leader \u201cmoved to extend Haitian TPS on the Senate floor by unanimous consent and was blocked by Senate Republicans and President Trump, who Lawler constantly supports.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve explained this to the White House, repeatedly, that ending TPS was a stupid decision,\u201d Lawler said at the forum. \u201cI am opposed to it, and I will continue to fight back against it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The administration hasn\u2019t budged, though. Community leaders in Rockland County, where the district\u2019s Haitian community is based, say many immigrants are too scared to leave their homes. Some are growing frustrated that more isn\u2019t being done.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there was the help, our folks would not be wearing ankle monitors,\u201d said Nicole Hines, the NAACP’s mid-Hudson and Westchester regional director.<\/p>\n