“I strongly oppose spending $2.4 billion in state dollars to address the migrant crisis in New York City. I opposed this funding throughout the budget process, and I voted against this funding in the final budget.

“Immigration is a federal issue that demands a federal response. Congress has failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform for decades. A few months ago, Congress again had the opportunity to address this issue when a bipartisan deal was reached in the U.S. Senate. That bill would have limited the number of asylum seekers entering the country, expedited removal of those not eligible for asylum, funded more border agents and immigration judges, and provided states like New York with resources for addressing this issue. Yet Congress again refused to act, leaving states and cities to address this problem. Border states like Texas and Arizona have been grappling with the immigration crisis for decades, and now the burden is falling upon additional states like New York.

“New Yorkers should not have to pay for Washington’s failures. We should be using our state taxpayer dollars to fund education, infrastructure, and programs for seniors and veterans. It’s not the job of individual states to clean up the mess left because leaders in Congress refuse to act to address this national problem.”