The New York gubernatorial race heated up Tuesday as Democratic Gov.Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman clashed on the debate stage, with the pair trading jabs over President Donald Trump, a recent ICE-involved shooting and inflation.The debate opened with the candidates being asked about the conduct of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which last week drew outrage in New York City following the shooting of a 28-year-old Dominican national whom the Department of Homeland Security said refused to comply with lawful orders during a targeted operation in the Bronx.A 5-year-old boy inside Oscar Bergal's vehicle was unharmed."Kathy Hochul appealed to ICE to let this criminal out.
The question that New Yorkers have to ask is what was this guy doing in New York in the first place? It's because Kathy Hochul has made us a sanctuary state," said Blakeman, a Republican."Think about it.This guy came into the country illegally.
He's been convicted of a crime.He's got pending charges for dealing drugs, poison to our children.
And he's a gangbanger.This is who Kathy Hochul is defending?" Blakeman continued.
"I have a cooperative agreement with ICE until Kathy Hochul said we could no longer cooperate with ICE.We got over 2,000 illegal migrants out of my county with criminal records ranging from rape, attempted murder, robbery, burglary, drug dealing, carjacking, gang activity.
And that's because we cooperated with ICE and we didn't raid one school, one hospital, one daycare center or one church.If you cooperate with federal law enforcement, it makes for a safer community.
That's what I did.Kathy Hochul is taking that ability away from us.
That's why things like this happen."Gov.Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman face off in the only scheduled debate ahead of the November New York gubernatorial election on Tuesday, Oct.
13, 2026, in New York.(Anna Connors/Pool The New York Times)Hochul called Blakeman's response a "non-a...