New York Democrats criticized Bruce Blakeman on Monday after the Republican gubernatorial candidate defended immigration officers and blamed media coverage for the attention surrounding ICE.
The New York State Democratic Committee singled out his comments during a CBS New York interview with Marcia Kramer. In its news release, the party accused Blakeman of minimizing concerns about the federal agency's conduct.
“All you hear about is ICE, ICE, ICE, and I think that's fueled by the media,” Blakeman said.
Kramer raised concerns about ICE's use of force and asked whether the agency's policies should change. The agency's formal name is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Blakeman defends officers' work
Blakeman said people should recognize that officers have a difficult job. Kramer responded that people were also concerned about incidents occurring across the state.
He responded by citing crimes he attributed to migrants and criticizing Gov. Kathy Hochul's immigration policies.
File photo of Bruce Blakeman.
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