Former Democratic New York Gov. David Paterson ripped Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday over the state’s new anti-ICE package, warning the legislation amounts to a serious blunder and could invite a wave of lawsuits.
Paterson appeared on John Catsimatidis’ “Cats Roundtable” radio show on 77 WABC, the New York Post (NYP) reported. He argued the legislation strips counties of their authority to work with federal agents, a shift he warned could lead to more federal raids and pile legal bills onto state taxpayers.
“The last I heard, the federal government supersedes the local government,” Paterson told 77 WABC. “When I was governor, I tried to adhere to that.” Paterson served as governor from 2008 to 2010, succeeding Eliot Spitzer, and once led the state Democratic Party. (RELATED: Kathy Hochul Tries Having It Both Ways On School Choice)
Albany lawmakers cleared the package on Thursday, according to Gothamist. The bills end 287(g) agreements with ICE, block federal agents from hospitals and parks, and bar them from wearing masks that obscure their identities.
Ex-Dem NY governor gives Hochul history lesson on her anti-ICE sanctuary law: ‘Egregious mistake’ https://t.co/cl4Br95yjP pic.twitter.com/8Zjat0z0uU
— New York Post (@nypost) May 24, 2026
Paterson predicted Republican county executives could band together against the state. “Nassau County, Suffolk County, the other counties around the state could ban together and bring a lawsuit against the state legislature itself, and the governor for taking this approach,” he told the radio show, the NYP reported. “It was an egregious mistake they made,” Paterson said.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is challenging Hochul this fall, has pledged to sue if the law voids his county’s ICE contracts, Gothamist reported. Federal border czar Tom Homan has separately threatened to deploy more ICE agents to New York if Hochul signs the bill.
Blakeman publicly backed Paterson in a statement to the NYP. “Common Sense Democrats know that Kathy Hochul has made our neighborhoods less safe with her pro-criminal policies,” Blakeman said. “Governor Paterson is a sensible and thoughtful Democrat who is rightfully appalled with Hochul’s support of this dangerous legislation.”
Hochul has defended the legislation as a check on what she calls federal overreach. “It’ll make New York a leader in addressing ICE overreach while also ensuring that there’s no sanctuary for criminals in this state,” she said in Buffalo on Thursday, according to the NYP.