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Gov. Kathy Hochul, DN.Y., said Thursday that she told an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in New York that they were “scaring people” after he asked why the officer was wearing a mask.
Hochul was asked on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” about the shooting that happened in Minneapolis on Wednesday during an ICE operation in the city.
“I have a lot of respect for law enforcement — a lot of respect — but I asked the ICE agent, ‘Why are you wearing a mask?’ When I was down there at 26 Federal Plaza, I said, ‘why are you wearing a mask?'” Hochul told the hosts.
“No other law enforcement does this, our police don’t do it, our FBI doesn’t do it,” he said. “‘Why are you doing this?’ And they say, ‘Because we get drunk, our family is abused, etc.’ I said, ‘Why do you think you’re better than anyone else?’
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Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks with Moms First CEO Reshma Saujani during the Economic Club of New York luncheon on Sept. 18, 2025, New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Hochul said he ordered an ICE agent.
“You’re just trying to scare people, you’re scaring people yourself, and I don’t want to see that. So we don’t need that here,” he said.
The governor said New York is doing well and said he is trying to prevent attempts to “make war” on their streets.
“They shouldn’t have been in Minneapolis in the first place, that’s why,” he said.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, agents were trying to arrest people in south Minneapolis when Renee Nicole Good tried to use her car as a weapon against the police, prompting a federal agent to shoot in self-defense. Good is said to have died after being shot. The agent involved has not been publicly identified, and the incident remains under investigation.
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ICE agents stopped by the scene of a woman who was shot and killed the next day during an operation on Jan. 7, 2026, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hochul was asked earlier in the interview about concerns that protesters may clash with ICE in New York.
“This is exactly the chaos that the Trump administration wants. This is how they work. They want to create this sense, you know, especially in Democratic cities and in Democratic states, that there is just this lawlessness and things that are out of control, and they need to step in and save it. They are very wrong,” he said.
“New York is safe. Our statistics that I announced with our police commissioner and the new mayor are shocking in how we have reduced crime, especially violent crime,” added Hochul.
The governor condemned a September ICE raid in New York after agents arrested 57 illegal immigrants at a New York candy factory — including others suspected of child endangerment, DUI and repeat illegal entries.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks at a press conference, July 31, 2024, in the Bronx neighborhood of New York. (Julia Nikhinson/AP Photo)
“I’ve made it clear: New York will work with the federal government to secure our borders and deport violent criminals, but we will never stand for ICE to separate families and abandon children,” Hochul said in a statement.
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“Today’s attacks will not make New York any safer. What they have done is destroy hardworking families who are just trying to build a life here, like millions of immigrants before them,” he said. “These actions are against the principles of New York. As governor, I will always stand against this cruelty.”
