Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Sunday accused New York Governor Kathy Hochul of hypocrisy for her strong condemnation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the state, while allegedly remaining silent on the stabbing of an NYPD officer by undocumented immigrants.
Mullin pointed to the recent stabbing of off-duty NYPD Detective Jose Mercedes, who was reportedly attacked seven times by two undocumented individuals in the Bronx. He contrasted this with Hochul's vocal criticism of ICE after an agent shot a man, Oscar Belga, who was attempting to flee arrest in the Bronx. Belga, the suspect in the ICE shooting, is reported to have a significant criminal record, including charges for felony robbery, assault, drug offenses, and larceny, as well as misdemeanor weapons possession.
"Not one of them said anything when one of their own, an NYPD officer, was stabbed seven times in this same neighborhood in the Bronx last week," Mullin stated on Fox News, referring to Hochul and other "career sanctuary politicians." He added that there was no press conference or public outcry when Detective Mercedes was attacked.
Mullin highlighted that the suspects in Mercedes' stabbing, Dangelo Rafael Jean Caraballo and Sneider Mejia Bautista, and Belga, the subject of Hochul's criticism, all allegedly hail from the Dominican Republic and have extensive criminal records, suggesting they should have been deported.
Hochul's office, in response, dismissed the criticism. A spokesperson stated that the Governor "has tremendous respect for the hardworking men and women of the New York City Police Department" and is focused on "investing record amounts in law enforcement funding, strengthening laws to keep our communities safe, and protecting New Yorkers from rogue ICE agents."
Mullin argued that ICE agents are necessary to remove criminals from the streets, especially given the governor's policies that he claims lead to the release of such individuals. He questioned, "Who is going to get criminals off the streets that you keep releasing?"
The controversy arose following an ICE operation in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, where agents fired into a vehicle containing a child during an arrest attempt. Hochul's office characterized the operation as the "intentional infliction of pain, of chaos, [and] of trying to terrorize neighborhoods."