Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Is a Guest on MSNOW's Deadline: White House

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on MSNOW's Deadline: White House with Alicia Menendez to discuss last night's ICE shooting in Marble Hill.

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: Joining me at the table, New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Governor, thank you so much -

Governor Hochul: Thank you very much.

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: - for being here on this important story. What can you tell us about the state of this investigation?

Governor Hochul: Well, it is ongoing. And we have insisted that the body cam footage be released to the public as soon as possible. This is exactly what I told the President last night. I also told Secretary Mullin. We insist on seeing the evidence of what exactly happened there.

I also said I want a cessation of ICE activities in New York, at least in the short term. Let us calm everything down. I said, "This is a tinderbox." When you go into a neighborhood, in broad daylight, and fire shots near a school with lots of kids around, and there's a child in a car and you shoot into that vehicle, then there's justified outrage from this community.

And it basically is a statement that we have had enough. We are so lucky that we're not talking to a mom who's making funeral plans for a five-year-old. I talked to her last night. That child is terrorized. Usually a very chatty, talkative child, very carefree. Mom says he just won't talk. He's just, he's just traumatized. Who does that?

And I want to make another point. I have over 500 policing agencies in the State of New York. They issue hundreds of thousands of arrests every single year, but they don't shoot into vehicles not knowing what's inside. They don't shoot into vehicles at all. They don't go into neighborhoods in the middle of the afternoon and shoot near a school. There are restraints on everybody else except for ICE. What does that tell you? This is an intentional infliction of pain, of chaos, of just trying to terrorize neighborhoods, intimidate.

There's no other way to describe it. They're not trained because trained police officers do not shoot into vehicles not knowing a thing about it, and that's why we had a near tragedy yesterday, a man with a bullet in his neck and a child who almost lost his life. That's what we're dealing with in 2026 in Trump's America.

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: When you spoke to the mom of that five-year-old, did she give you a sense of what that child saw and what they were able to process?

Governor Hochul: He won't talk. The child is not speaking, and that's what disturbs her so much because she says he's very usually outgoing, very talkative, but he witnesses this. He's in the backseat of a car. The bullets are coming into the vehicle that he's in being transported by his father. And a bullet strikes his father's neck. I'm sure he saw bloodshed and how does a five-year-old process that?

I'm a mom. I just talked to the mom on the phone, but I just want to give her a hug and tell her, "This should never have happened to you." This is so un-American.

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: When you, when you say that you've called for a cessation of ICE activity in the State of New York, is that a plea that you have made to Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a plea that you have made to the President? To whom has that plea gone?

Governor Hochul: I made it to both. I said, "We have to calm this situation down. Just stop ICE operations." And then they make the claim, "We're only going after the worst of the worst." You're not going after the worst of the worst because why do I have high school students or nursing moms or people who are in their 70s, who've been living their whole lives here working hard at a pizzeria, why are they in detention centers? So don't tell me that.

I said there are a lot of people who have not committed crimes, who are not the worst of the worst. You always just bring them all together as if they're all doing the same thing and that is false. We know what's going on here. These are our neighbors. We see it happening all over New York, one of the most diverse communities on the planet. All the different neighborhoods. People are afraid to go to church. They're afraid to go to school. We don't want them afraid to go vote either. They need to vote.

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: You've made the point about asking for cessation of ICE activity. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said publicly that he will not stop ICE operations in the state. Is that what he told you privately?

Governor Hochul: He said he's not able to do that. I said, "Then issue an order that directs all ICE agents to not fire guns into vehicles." I asked for that as well.

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: And was he amenable to that?

Governor Hochul: No.

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: And the President, was the President responsive? I

Governor Hochul: I asked them both the same questions. We had a conversation and you know, I get a description of these terrorists and murderers and rapists and if there's a terrorist, a murderer, a rapist, our policies say we will help you remove them. It is New York State's law and policy that we will cooperate with federal agencies when there's a court order or warrant for someone's arrest. We always have. This is not new.

So calling us a sanctuary state is a mischaracterization. It's not a sanctuary for criminals, but we are a place for people who come to build a better life and their families and escape persecution and oppression and poverty. They're welcome here.

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: So you've made this plea to Secretary Mullin, you've made this plea to the President. They have both denied the request, both for the cessation of ICE forces and for a policy that would restrict them from using lethal-

Governor Hochul: I asked them - I asked Secretary Mullin directly about the policy. I said, "Other policing agencies do not do this." I'm proud to represent hardworking, well-trained law enforcement who are professionals in our state. Five hundred agencies, hundreds of thousands of arrests every single year, and this doesn't happen with them. So something has gone awry. That is why this is a rogue agency. They're out of control here in New York, in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, all over our country, but not just in our big cities.

The stories that you hear on farms in Upstate New York and factories right outside of Syracuse. There's a factory there where six moms with children under the age of one were taken away and put in detention centers. These were nursing moms, stripped away, who were hard at work making nutrition bars in a factory in Upstate New York. This is what we're talking about.

If they're a hardened criminal, we don't want them here either. We'll work with you. But the vast, vast, vast majority are not.

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: You mentioned Syracuse. Donald Trump is going to hold a rally there in a few hours. The New York Post claims that he's going to attack you for your handling of immigration. Would you like the opportunity to rebut that?

Governor Hochul: I already told him. Last night, I directly told the President, and I said, "I know it's a Republican talking point, but it is false to say that we are a sanctuary. We are not a sanctuary for criminals." And I repeated, I said, "I'm going to say it again because you're going to hear otherwise, and you're going to say otherwise. This is not a sanctuary for criminals, but we are a place where people want to build a life to live safely, obey our laws and to live the American dream." That's what we're all about here in New York.

So I don't really pay attention to what they're doing tonight. I've got a state to run. It's obviously a very political event. It seems like a last-ditch effort to breathe some life into a campaign that is on life support. They'll do what they do. I don't think it's going to be helpful.

Alicia Menendez, MSNOW: New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us.