Governor Hochul is a Guest on MSNBC’s Katy Tur Reports, Speaks on Migrants

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on MSNBC’s Katy Tur Reports.

AUDIO of the Governor’s remarks is available here.

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

Katy Tur, MSNBC: Joining us now is the Democratic Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul. So, this is an issue in blue states, especially in the Northeast and Chicago because of the busing and then the flying in of migrants by Republicans in red states in Texas and in Florida.

There are so many more migrants in this city than we had seen in the recent past. You were with President Biden at the signing of this executive order. Tell me why you think this is a good idea.

Governor Hochul: Well, I think it’s a great idea because you have to deal with the cards you’ve been dealt. If the Republicans had not listened to Donald Trump four months ago, they would have done it the way you’re supposed to do it, you pass it through Congress.

It was a bipartisan deal, money for border agents, money for interdiction of drugs, money for technology, and they refused to do it because they thought it would give President Biden a win. So, he did not want to have to do this, but this is what we have to deal with. We can’t ignore the fact that while we are a kind and generous people in New York State, and we’re proud of the Statue of Liberty, we are at capacity right now because we have had over 200,000 people come over in the last two years.

So, this will give us a place – an opportunity to have a little bit of a pause on this. Let people apply for asylum legally, before they get to the borders. And we need more judges and a better process.

But President Biden’s been trying to get immigration reform since his first day in office. So, this should not come as a surprise to anyone. You have to do an end run every once in a while, and that’s exactly what today is all about.

Katy Tur, MSNBC: Well, let me ask you about the cost here, because we have some numbers. This is from the Comptroller’s office, the New York City Office of Management and Budget. This is data that they’ve compiled.

In the fiscal year of 2023, the estimated cost of asylum seekers for New York City was $1.5 billion. For 2024, it’s projected to be $4.7 billion. And for next year, 2025, $6.1 billion. That is a whole lot of money. And that’s even before President Biden seals this border. Where is this money going to come from?

Governor Hochul: Well, that’s the City of New York. The State of New York has also had to provide resources to house these individuals, get them legal services and try to get them into jobs. I will tell you this, I have a dual problem. We have a lot of people who come looking for a better life. We’re trying to manage this scale. I think this today is important to give us some breathing room.

But also, I have a lot of jobs that are open. I want them to get work permits so they can fill the thousands of jobs that we’ve identified for them. So, the costs are high, they’re too high, we could use much more help with the money. But, why it took so long –

Katy Tur, MSNBC: Well, on that point – let’s talk about the point of getting them jobs. The federal government says they got to wait six months when they cross the border. They seek asylum, but then they have to wait six months for a work permit. Why is President Biden not signing an executive order to try and make that a shorter amount of time so that they can get jobs?

A lot of these migrants that are coming in, they’re not just standing on the side of the street and begging for a handout. They are trying to make money. They’re trying to sell things. They’re trying to hustle up work in this city. And in the state, as you said, there are a number of jobs that you have open. Wouldn’t fixing that extremely long waiting period help things?

Governor Hochul: That is another area where they can change the law. Congress can change the law to make that a shorter time frame. Absolutely, I agree with you that they should. The Biden Administration is working hard to give the work authorizations, but there are backlogs because, guess what? Once again, we don’t have the money allocated from Congress. The money comes from Congress. Anything that’s going to cost Congress a dime to help facilitate this processing or to help us manage the flow or help them get the jobs, Congress is the only entity that can allocate the dollars.

That’s why Republicans are so disingenuous. When members of Congress or people who listen to Donald Trump – when there was a viable plan on the table, you have no right to complain right now. You have no moral authority on this one because you refuse to do your jobs.

Katy Tur, MSNBC: And just going one more on the work permitting process, part of the issue according to reporting is that, and this has maybe been addressed a little bit in in recent months, but Mayor Adams just didn’t have the organization set up to, to tell asylum seekers and the migrants that are here that they are eligible to work after six months and that there were thousands of people who were in the shelter system costing hundreds of dollars a day that were all actually able to work.

They were eligible to work. They just didn’t know. Is there a way to make sure that information is there? That it’s in all the languages it needs to be in to get these people working?

Governor Hochul: You’ve hit on an area which has been frustrating because of privacy and laws that are in place to protect individuals’ personal data, only the federal government can let them know when they’ve been approved for work authorization, not the state or the city.

So, they literally text people. They have a way to communicate with them and tell them where to go for the next step. So, it is imperfect now, but we know the path forward will be better. But also, just having fewer people to deal with on a daily basis to take the pressure off and let out some of the steam. That is going to make a huge difference. Those are the changes we hope to see as a result of President Biden standing up today.

Katy Tur, MSNBC: Can we ask – I wanted to ask you about politics here. The Republicans and former President Trump want to use this as an issue in the upcoming elections. Former President Trump obviously believes this is a winning issue for him. How do you see it affecting the State of New York?

Governor Hochul: They have no leg to stand on and that’s my point. There are 10 Republican members of Congress who represent the State of New York. You have as much clout as that Freedom Caucus. Go into Speaker Johnson’s office this afternoon, demand that on behalf of your constituents and people all over America – change the laws. Go forth with the bipartisan plan that was negotiated by conservative Senators, Republican Senators and Democrats. Go back to where we were a few months ago. You have no right to complain because you just bought this problem.

Katy Tur, MSNBC: I would note that Tom Suozzi ran right into this – right at this issue when he was running for George Santos’ open seat, trying to take it away from the Republicans. Even mentioning that there was an immigration bill that didn’t get acted on and he won in that special election, so Democrats saw a win there – Governor Kathy Hochul – in Long Island, by the way.

Governor Kathy Hochul, thank you so much for joining us.

Governor Hochul: Thank you.