Political leaders in New York have stepped up their calls to deport illegal immigrants who break the law after a shocking video emerged showing a group of individuals believed to be illegal immigrants kicking and punching two police officers near Times Square.
“You don’t touch our police officers,” she added.
Asked about the immigration status of the suspects, Ms. Hochul said her office has not independently confirmed that they’re in the country without authorization but she cited the DA’s office and the police as having identified them as illegal immigrants.
On the day of Ms. Hochul’s first remarks, New York City Mayor Eric Adams took a similar view.
Speaking on a broadcast of New York’s PIX11 news, Mr. Adams said that those asylum-seekers who are here because they “want to be part of the American dream, we say yes to that. But those that are breaking our laws, we need to reexamine the laws that don’t allow us to deport them, because they’re doing violent acts.”
The Attack
On Jan. 27, a group of individuals assaulted two NYPD officers near Times Square.The officers tried to disperse the group, but the situation quickly turned into a physical altercation, the NYPD said.
The two officers suffered minor injuries, including facial cuts and body bruises, and were treated at the scene.
Initially, police arrested five men in connection with the incident. Later, two more were taken into custody but the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office decided not to charge one of them.
The six individuals who were arrested and charged are: Yorman Reveron (24), Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel (19), Wilson Juarez (21), Kelvin Servita Arocha (19), Jhoan Boada (22), and Yohenry Brito (24).
A number of the suspects have arrest histories for offenses ranging from robbery to petty larceny.
Mr. Brito is the only one to be ordered held on bail.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell criticized the decision to release four of the suspects without bail, calling it “reprehensible,” and saying the “cowards” should be in jail.
Those who “were arrested should be sitting in Rikers right now on bail. They should be indicted this week and taken off our streets. Do you want to know why our cops are getting assaulted? There are no consequences,” Mr. Chell told reporters during a news conference.
During her Feb. 2 press conference, Ms. Hochul also expressed disappointment that the suspects involved in the assault on police officers were released on bail, saying that “all I know is that an assault on a police officer means that you be sitting in jail.”
NYPD Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry vowed to find the remaining suspects.
“We will comb this globe to look for you and bring you to justice,” he said, according to ABC7.
Reports have emerged that four of the suspects may have fled to California, boarding a bus and giving fake names, according to the New York Post and ABC7, with both outlets citing anonymous law enforcement sources.Ms. Hochul was asked during the Feb. 2 presser about reports that four of the suspects have fled to California. She replied by saying that bail laws allow for suspects involved in a physical assault of a police officer to be charged as a bail-eligible offense.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said that it didn’t request bail for most of the suspects, saying prosecutors were in the process of gathering additional video evidence of the attack.
The Reactions
The Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the largest police union representing department members, responded to the circumstances around the attack by criticizing the state’s justice system for letting suspects off easy without bail.“Attacks on police officers are becoming an epidemic, and the reason is a revolving door we’re seeing in cases like this one,” said PBA President Patrick Hendry. “It is impossible for police officers to deal effectively with crime and disorder if the justice system can’t or won’t protect us while we do that work.”
Former President Donald Trump also addressed the attack during a Jan. 31 press conference, during which he said incidents like immigrants assaulting NYPD police officers support his long-standing argument for tougher border security measures.
“We have no idea who these people are that are pouring into our country. Last night I watched where they’re beating up police officers in New York City, a gang of people that just came in that didn’t speak English,” the former president said.
“They come from jails and prisons, they come from mental institutions, and insane asylums, and they’re terrorists, they have a lot of terrorists coming too,” he continued.
“We don’t want them, I’m sorry,” President Trump said.
On the campaign trail, President Trump has promised to arrest and deport illegal immigrants remaining in the United States.
Republicans have long called for tougher border security while blaming the policies of President Joe Biden for the record numbers of illegal immigrants that have been pouring into the country in recent times.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), who represents the state’s 11th Congressional District, said in a statement that the attack is a “horrifying example” of why New York City Mayor Erik Adams needs to “put an end to our city’s migrant crisis once and for all.”
Before the illegal immigration crisis hit New York City, Mr. Adams’ rhetoric on asylum-seekers was soft. For instance, he heralded the city’s right-to-shelter mandate as an expression of empathy toward migrants. New York’s right-to-shelter law basically requires the city to provide a bed to anyone who asks for one.
But as the crisis ramped up and the city spent over a billion dollars to rent space in hotels and to put up over 200 emergency shelters to house illegal immigrants streaming into the city, Mr. Adams’ rhetoric hardened.
